AIADMK seeks recall of corporation polls schedule

Chennai, Jan 31 (UNI) The opposition AIADMK today filed a petition, seeking to recall the schedule for January 29, 2007, issued by the State Election Commission (SEC) with respect to elections sought to be held in 100 wards of Chennai City Municipal Corporation.

The petition filed by AIADMK, represented by its Fisheries Wing Secretary and MLA D Jeyakumar, is likely to come up for hearing tomorrow.

The petitioner, submitted tha a Division Bench had passed a split verdict on January 12. While Mr Justice S J Mukhopadhaya had held that writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution cannot be invoked in election matters.

Mr Justice F M Ibrahim Kalifullah had said that an extraordinary situation requires an extraordinary remedy and ordered fresh poll to 99 wards. After the judgement, the alliance led by DMK directed its councilors to resign. Accordingly, 98 councilors submitted their resignation.

The resignation was made following severe criticism by the judgement. Steps have been taken by SEC to preempt and overreach any view that could be taken independently by the third judge. Almost all opposition parties expressed their dissatisfaction over the functioning of SEC and State Election Commissioner D Chandrasekaran.

The AIADMK also filed a petition seeking to restrain Chandrasekaran to function as SEC. When the issue was alive and referred to a third judge, the resignation of any councilor will not render the issue either odious, infructuous or academic in view of a plathora of judgements rendered by the Supreme Court on the scope of the third judge dealing with the matter which stand referred to him on the split verdict of the Division Bench, Mr Jeyakumar submittd.

UNI