Resigned MLAs seeking re-election in by-polls may constitute insult to voters: Madras High Court judge

TVK Madurantakam and Dharapuram Polling Station Candidates, Maragatham Kumaravel and P. Sathyabama | Photo credit: Special arrangement

An elected Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) who resigns from his post only to contest again on behalf of another political party in a subsequent by-election may be an insult to the electorate and the choice they made in the first instance, Justice SM Subramaniam of the Madras High Court said on Wednesday (Sep 16, 2026).

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who presided over the Second Division Bench, along with Justice K. Govindarajan, asked why the Election Commission of India (ECI) should not look into the issue in detail and come up with directions, invoking its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution, to prevent this “mockery of democracy”.

The oral observations were made during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by Chennai-based advocate K. Suthan, who insisted that the practice of elected legislators resigning their post only to seek re-election from the same constituencies after joining other political parties should be prevented.

Senior advocate R. Singaravelan, representing the PIL petitioners, pointed out to the court that as many as six All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) MLAs in Tamil Nadu had resigned from their post after the general elections this year and joined the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).

Two of them – Maragatham Kumaravel and P. Sathyabama – have now been named as TVK candidates to fill the vacancies caused by their own resignations in Madurantakam and Dharapuram constituencies. The court was also told that the ECI had notified the bye-elections only to these two constituencies and not to others.

If the practice of legislators resigning their post just to re-test the polls as candidates of other political parties is left unchecked, without any regulation, there may be a situation of mass resignations in the future, causing a huge dent in the state exchequer while conducting bye-elections, argued the lawyer.

Justice Subramaniam, who found strength in his ventures, said no one could stop the legislator from resigning, but the problem would only arise if he sought re-election to fill the vacancy caused by his resignation. The judge said that either Parliament or the European Citizens’ Initiative must investigate this special circumstance.

Request postponed

However, when Advocate General Vijay Narayan pointed out that a bench of First Division Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan had already reserved orders on the writ petition challenging the acceptance of the resignation of the six MLAs, Justice Subramaniam’s Bench decided to simply adjourn the PIL till the first Friday (September 18) to be heard when the Chief Justice returns from his current sitting in the Madurai Bench of the Supreme Court.

In its submissions, the AG also told the second bench that the law as it stands does not prevent the resigned MLAs from contesting the by-elections again and therefore the PIL petitioner’s plea to postpone the bye-elections to Madurantakam and Dharapuram constituencies cannot be accepted at all.

Published – 16 Sep 2026 13:04 IST