Producers’ council can’t make policy decisions: Madras high court

CHENNAI: Ten days after a new set of office-bearers won the Tamil Film Producers Council polls, the Madras high court has restrained them from taking any major policy or administrative decisions.
Film producer Keyaar and his team won the September 7 elections, held under the supervision of two former judges – Justice S Jagadeesan and Justice K Venkataraman – nominated by the high court.
On Tuesday, Justice R Sudhakar, passing interim orders on a civil suit filed by producer S Thanu, said: “No policy decision or major administrative decisions shall be taken by the newly elected members, whose election is under challenge, until further orders of this court. They cannot claim any right on the basis of any administrative action taken so far.” The judge then posted the matter on September 27.
In his petition, Thanu listed several poll-related malpractices. Noting that he had headed the producers council for two years since October 2011, Thanu said it was on his request that early elections had been called and held under the supervision of former judges.
He said that one A Kothandaramaiah of K R Infotainment Pvt Ltd was not eligible to contest the polls because he had not produced any Tamil film during the preceding three years, as stipulated under the bye-laws. Similarly, one T Siva contested in the polls flouting the rule that a candidate standing for election should not hold any other post in any of the film federations or bodies. Though these violations were brought to the notice of the judge-monitors, nothing was done to disqualify them, Thanu said.
Similarly, in utter violation of rules, candidates inserted newspaper advertisements carrying the pictures of chief minister Jayalalithaa to give an impression that members voting against them would be, in effect, voting against the state government itself, he said. The polling venue and all roads leading to it were full of advertisements and propaganda by the winning team, in violation of poll code, he said, and wanted the court to quash their election by declaring it as illegal.