Supreme Court raps AIADMK MP for attempt to discredit ECI, slaps ₹10 lakh costs

The Supreme Court recently came down heavily on AIADMK MP CV Shanmugam for casting aspersions on the Election Commission of India (ECI) by rushing to court with a plea against a Tamil Nadu government scheme before the poll body could even consider his complaint [Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam v Thiru C V Shanmugam and Ors]..A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai with Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria was hearing appeals filed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the State of Tamil Nadu challenging an interim order of the Madras High Court that had restrained the State from using the name of Chief Minister MK Stalin in the scheme titled “Ungaludan Stalin.”.In its judgment of August 6, the Court noted that Shanmugam had already made a representation to the Election Commission under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. However, only three days later, he moved the Madras High Court alleging inaction on his complaint.The Bench said that such haste reflected poorly on the ECI and suggested an attempt to discredit the institution.“Not giving even a breathing period to the ECI and making such statements with regard to the Commission’s failure to act on the representation within a reasonable period, the writ petitioner, in our view, has also tried to castigate the ECI,” the Court said.It emphasised that the Election Commission had to be given reasonable time to consider a representation before a litigant could allege inaction or approach the High Court. It noted that the petitioner’s own pleadings accused the ECI of failure to act despite the fact that his complaint had been filed only days earlier..The Court underlined that such conduct undermined faith in democratic institutions. It observed that political parties must fight their battles before voters instead of trying to weaken the credibility of the ECI or using courts to settle political scores.“Time and again we have observed that the political battles should be fought before the electorate. Courts should not be used to settle the political scores between the rival political parties,” the Bench said.The judgment further reasoned that Shanmugam’s selective challenge also raised questions. The Court recorded that the State had produced details of 45 schemes floated in Tamil Nadu over the years, each named after different political leaders. It found it telling that the MP chose to challenge only one scheme of one leader while ignoring others.“When such schemes are floated in the name of leaders of all the political parties, we do not appreciate the anxiety of the writ petitioner to choose only one political party and one political leader. If the writ petitioner was so concerned about the misuse of public funds, he would have made a challenge to all such schemes across the country,” the Bench observed..Supreme Court quashes Madras HC order barring use of living person, ex-CM’s name in govt scheme; slaps ₹10 lakh fine on AIADMK MP.On these grounds, the Court held that the writ petition filed before the Madras High Court was misconceived and amounted to abuse of process. It proceeded to set aside the High Court’s interim order, allowed the appeals filed by the State and DMK, and imposed costs of ₹10 lakh on Shanmugam.The Court directed that the sum be deposited with the State of Tamil Nadu within a week and be used exclusively for welfare schemes benefitting underprivileged sections. It also warned that failure to comply would invite contempt proceedings..While the larger verdict focused on the legality of using a Chief Minister’s name in a welfare scheme, the Bench made it clear that litigants should not attempt to question the integrity of the Election Commission by making premature allegations of inaction..[Read Judgment]