The Madras High Court, on Tuesday, August 25, warned Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and Public Works Minister Aadhav Arjuna that it could impose an exemplary cost of Rs 50,000 each if they sought further adjournment to file applications seeking rejection of election petitions challenging their victories in the 2026 Assembly elections.
Justice V Lakshminarayanan issued the warning while hearing the election petitions concerning Vijay’s victories from the Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East constituencies and Aadhav Arjuna’s victory from Villivakkam.
According to LiveLaw, Justice Lakshminarayanan orally remarked, “I'm not bothered about the personalities. You people say that election cases are not being decided. But then you are asking time. Election petitions are to be disposed of within 6 months.”
The judge stressed that the court was working within the statutory six-month period for disposing of election petitions and therefore could not permit prolonged adjournments. The judge also observed that obtaining the affidavits signed by the concerned parties would not take much time.
Counsel appearing for Vijay and Aadhav Arjuna submitted that the applications seeking rejection of the election petitions were ready, but there had been a delay in obtaining the signatures of the two leaders due to the ongoing Assembly session. The counsel sought more time and requested the court not to impose costs.
The counsel assured the court that the applications would be filed within two days. The court, considering the assurance, refrained from imposing costs for the time being and adjourned the matter.
The counsel later assured the court that the applications seeking rejection of the plaints would be filed in a day, following which the court adjourned the matter to August 27.
The election petitions were filed challenging the victories of Vijay and Aadhav Arjuna in the recent Assembly polls. The Madras High Court had admitted the petitions in July and emphasised that election petitions were required to be decided as expeditiously as possible and within six months.
Three of the four election petitions against Vijay challenge his victory from the Perambur Assembly constituency, while another challenges his victory from the Tiruchirappalli East constituency.
The Perambur petitions were filed by DMK candidate RD Shekar and voters Dinesh and Lakshmi Narasimman. DMK candidate Inigo Irudayaraj filed an election petition challenging Vijay’s victory from Tiruchirappalli East.
The petitioners have alleged that Vijay, during a campaign speech on April 21, appealed to children to ask their parents and other relatives to vote for TVK. They have contended that this violated election rules prohibiting the involvement of minors in election campaigning.
The petitioners have also alleged defects in Vijay’s financial declaration in his election affidavit.
Two election petitions have been filed challenging Aadhav Arjuna’s victory from the Villivakkam Assembly constituency. DMK candidate Karthik Mohan and voter R Sivaraj filed separate petitions challenging his election.
The latest proceedings concern the applications proposed by Vijay and Aadhav Arjuna seeking rejection of the election petitions. The court’s warning came against the backdrop of the statutory six-month period for disposal of election petitions.
The matter will next be taken up on August 27.