Madras HC dismisses plea against candidates contesting in two poll seats

Chennai: Madras high court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to obtain an undertaking from candidates contesting in two constituencies, requiring them to reimburse election expenses if they resign from one seat.The first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan passed the order on a plea moved by Mani from Melur in Madurai. According to the petitioner, in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, some candidates contest from two constituencies. If they win in both the constituencies, they must resign from one seat, which necessitates a by-election in that constituency, thereby causing expenditure to the govt, the petitioner said.Therefore, he requested that the candidates contesting in two constituencies be required to submit an undertaking agreeing to bear the election expenses of the constituency they resign from.When the petition came up for hearing recently, the high court's first bench pointed out that the law permits candidates to contest from two constituencies and also observed that a challenge to this legal provision had already been dismissed by the Supreme Court.