The Madras High Court has directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to provide election-related records of Tamil Nadu Minister and former Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin to an unsuccessful candidate who intends to challenge the result of the Chepauk–Thiruvallikeni Assembly constituency election through an election petition.
The Division Bench of Justice GR Swaminathan and Justice V Lakshminarayanan held on Monday that the Election Commission cannot withhold such documents in a manner that defeats a candidate’s statutory right to institute an election petition within the prescribed limitation period.
The Court was hearing a petition filed by P Milany, an independent candidate who contested the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election from the Chepauk–Thiruvallikeni constituency. Udhayanidhi Stalin, who contested on behalf of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), secured the highest number of votes and was declared elected.
With the intention of challenging the election result, Milany sought certified copies of Stalin’s accepted nomination paper in Form 2B, his affidavit filed in Form 26, and the checklist of documents submitted along with the nomination papers. He also requested copies of any nomination papers and affidavits filed by Stalin that may have been rejected during the scrutiny process.
In addition, Milany sought copies of orders rejecting 15 nominations during scrutiny, objections received by the Returning Officer, decisions accepting nominations despite objections, Form 7A containing the final list of contesting candidates, and relevant portions of the Handbook for Returning Officers. According to the petitioner, these records were necessary for preparing and filing an election petition before the High Court.
The petitioner had initially sought certain records even before the election process concluded, and subsequently made representations on May 15 and May 20, 2026, after the declaration of results.
Appearing for the Election Commission, Standing Counsel Niranjan Rajagopalan relied on a 2024 circular and contended that election records could only be furnished after the expiry of 45 days from the declaration of results and upon payment of the prescribed fee. Since the 45-day period had not elapsed, it was argued that the petitioner had no enforceable cause of action.
The High Court rejected this contention. The Bench observed that under Section 81 of the Representation of the People Act, an election petition must be filed within 45 days from the date of declaration of results and that such delay cannot be condoned. The Court further noted that election petitions are required to strictly comply with the pleading requirements under Section 83 of the Act, failing which they may be dismissed at the threshold.
The Bench held that if the Election Commission were permitted to retain the relevant records until the expiry of the 45-day limitation period, the statutory right of a candidate to challenge an election would effectively become illusory.
While examining Rule 93 of the Conduct of Election Rules, the Court observed that the restriction on inspection and supply of records applies only to a limited category of election documents such as ballot papers, counterfoils and marked electoral rolls. Since the documents sought by Milany did not fall within those restricted categories, the Court held that there was no legal impediment to their disclosure.
Accordingly, the High Court directed the District Election Officer to furnish the remaining certified copies sought by the petitioner within two weeks.
The Court also recorded that shortly before pronouncement of the judgment, the Election Commission informed it that certified copies of Stalin’s accepted nomination papers, rejected nomination papers, Form 7A containing the list of contesting candidates, and the English version of the affidavit in Form 26 had already been supplied to the petitioner by email on June 6. Despite this partial compliance, the Court proceeded to direct the authorities to provide the remaining records sought by the petitioner within the stipulated period.
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