Supreme Court Slams AIADMK MP for Targeting ECI, Imposes Rs. 10 Lakh Cost

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has come down heavily on AIADMK MP C Ve Shanmugam for targeting the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, terming his plea “an abuse of law”.

The top court not only quashed the Madras High Court’s July 31 order but also imposed a cost of Rs. 10 lakh on the petitioner.

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, along with Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria, criticised Shanmugam for rushing to court merely three days after filing a representation with the ECI. “Not giving even a breathing period to the ECI… the writ petitioner, in our view, has also tried to castigate the ECI,” the Bench observed.

The Madras High Court had earlier restrained the Tamil Nadu government from launching any new or rebranded welfare schemes named after living persons and from using portraits of former chief ministers, ideological leaders, or DMK symbols in advertisements. The Supreme Court has now overturned that order.

Writing the verdict on August 6, CJI Gavai stressed that political battles must be fought before the electorate, not in courts. “Courts should not be used to settle political scores between rival political parties,” he said, adding that the writ petition was “totally misconceived and an abuse of the process of law.”

The Rs. 10 lakh cost imposed on Shanmugam has been directed to be deposited with the Tamil Nadu government.