A vacation bench of the Madras High Court comprising Justices G R Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayan ordered notices to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu, TVK president Joseph Vijay, DMK president M K Stalin and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami.
While hearing a PIL filed by advocate L Vasuki from Cuddalore, the bench ordered the issuance of notices on May 21. In her petition, Vasuki alleged that during the election campaign, TVK chief Josepp made statements at a public meeting held at YMCA Grounds in Chennai on April 21, 2026, calling upon children to emotionally influence or pressure their parents and friends to vote for TVK candidates.
The petitioner stated that the speech was widely circulated through print, digital and social media platforms, triggering public debate over the alleged use of minor children as instruments of electoral influence.
She claimed that after Joseph’s remarks, several videos and online materials went viral allegedly showing children emotionally pressurising parents regarding voting choices.
Referring to Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the petitioner argued that corrupt practices, including undue influence in the electoral process, warranted immediate examination by the ECI and the Chief Electoral Officer.
During the hearing, the bench observed: “The candidate can be disqualified, but can a party be disqualified? Whether a political party itself could legally face disqualification under Section 100 of the Act?”
The court further noted that the matter required investigation and observed that while an election petition may be maintainable against a candidate, the issue of disqualification of a political party under Section 100 required examination. The bench subsequently issued notices to the Election Commission and the parties concerned.
The petitioner also cited earlier communications issued by the Election Commission in 2009, 2013 and 2014, in which the Commission had expressed strong disapproval of involving children in rallies, campaign events, distribution of campaign material or any election-related activities.
Her counsel further submitted that even after the election results, Vijay had publicly thanked children during an address, which according to the petitioner reflected their alleged involvement in the campaign.
The petitioner additionally alleged that widespread complaints regarding cash-for-vote distribution were reported across several Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu during the 2026 Assembly elections. She stated that complaints, media reports, videos, digital evidence and social media materials relating to the allegations were already in the public domain, and alleged that the ECI and the Tamil Nadu CEO failed to initiate any transparent or effective inquiry.
According to the petition, such alleged inaction violated Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution and affected the purity of the electoral process and the principle of free and fair elections.
The bench posted the matter for further hearing on May 29.
