Madras High Court: Only Parliament can bar resigned MLAs from bypolls

The Madras High Court has stated that only Parliament possesses the authority to enact laws regarding the barring of resigned Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from contesting by-elections.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan addressed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought to prevent representatives from resigning shortly after an election for political reasons. The petitioner argued that such resignations lead to unnecessary public expenditure on by-elections and that a statutory restriction should be implemented to prevent these individuals from contesting for five years.

The court questioned its own ability to direct the recovery of election expenses or impose such restrictions in the absence of existing statutory provisions, noting that it lacks the legislative power to create new laws.