Madras High Court PIL seeks stay on Madurantakam and Dharapuram by-elections

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking a stay on upcoming by-elections for the Madurantakam and Dharapuram assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu.

The petition, filed by advocate K Suthan, follows the resignation of six MLAs from the 2026 Assembly elections who subsequently joined the TVK party. The petitioner argues that when elected representatives resign shortly after an election for political reasons, it results in an unnecessary expenditure of public funds.

Suthan is proposing a statutory restriction that would prevent such individuals from contesting parliamentary or state legislative assembly elections for five years following their resignation. Additionally, the petition seeks to restrain the Election Commission of India from accepting nomination papers for TVK candidates Maragatham Kumaravel and P Sathyabama until the writ petition is resolved.