The Madras High Court on Wednesday, February 23, declared valid the election conducted for South Indian Film Artists Association (SIFAA), popularly known as Nadigar Sangam in 2019. The court also ordered the counting of votes from the election, which remain in ballot boxes kept in a bank locker since then. A bench of Justices Pushpa Sathyanarayana and Mohammed Shaffiq ordered the election officer to open the ballot boxes, count the votes, and declare the results.
The court directed that the entire process must be completed within four weeks and results must be declared. The elections for the SIFAA were declared in 2019 when actors Vishal Krishna, Nasser and Kanthi were heading the organisation. The Registrar of Societies passed an executive order suspending the elections indefinitely, after a few members had lodged complaints alleging that their names were removed from the electoral rolls.
The Nadigar Sangam or SIFAA immediately approached the Madras High Court and a bench of Justice PD Audikesavalu stayed the Registrar's order on June 21, 2019. He also permitted the conduct of elections on June 23. He, however, directed that the counting of votes must not be done until the final disposal of the writ petition.
The court also passed an order directing the police to provide protection at the election venue in June 2019. However, Justice K Kalyanasundaram, in January 2020, declared that the elections held on June 23, 2019 as null and void, holding that the three-year tenure of the three actors who held the posts of President, General Secretary, and Treasurer had come to an end in October 2018 and therefore all actions taken by them were considered invalid.
He had also ordered fresh elections within three months by appointing a new election officer. The Nadigar Sangam moved an appeal and the division bench of Justices Sathyanarayana and Shaffiq reversed the order to hold the 2019 polls valid.