The Court restrains the Election Commission from notifying by-elections to Tiruchirappalli East, Karur, Ambasamudram, Perundurai and Viralimalai until July 31, citing pending election petitions against the results.
The Madras High Court on Friday restrained the Election Commission of India (ECI) from notifying by-elections to five vacant Tamil Nadu Assembly constituencies — Tiruchirappalli East, Karur, Ambasamudram, Perundurai and Viralimalai — until at least July 31, 2026. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan passed the interim order on a Public Interest Litigation filed by K. Venkatachalapathy, a resident of Tirunelveli district.
Tiruchirappalli East became vacant after CM Vijay, having won both Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East in the 2026 Assembly election, resigned from the latter as required by law when a candidate wins two constituencies. The other four seats — Karur, Viralimalai, Perundurai and Ambasamudram — fell vacant after their AIADMK MLAs resigned from the Assembly amid the party's post-election turmoil, with several reportedly aligning with the ruling dispensation.
The PIL argued that conducting by-elections while election petitions challenging the original results remain pending could create a constitutional anomaly: if a court later rules in favour of a defeated candidate's petition, a constituency could effectively end up with two people claiming to have been duly elected. The petitioner's counsel cited a series of Supreme Court judgments between 1967 and 2018 holding that by-elections should not proceed while such petitions are pending, particularly where the losing candidate has specifically asked the court to declare them the winner instead.
Senior counsel appearing for CM Vijay, along with the Tamil Nadu Advocate General representing the Legislative Assembly Secretary, both supported the stay. The Advocate General drew a distinction between resignations submitted before an election petition was filed and those submitted after — noting that CM Vijay resigned from Tiruchirappalli East on 10 May itself, before the rival candidate's petition was filed. Counsel for the Election Commission told the court it had not yet received the case records and was not yet in a position to state its position. The court has directed all parties to file counter-affidavits and posted the matter for further hearing on 31 July, 2026.
Madras High Court By-Elections Tiruchirappalli East CM Vijay July 10, 2026