Chennai, Nov 11 (PTI) The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission (TNSEC) to arrange for a meeting of the members of the Marakkanam Panchayat Union, in Villupuram district, to elect its chairman and vice-chairman.

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The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu gave the direction, while admitting a PIL petition from S Kannan of Nallore village in the district.

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According to the petitioner, a successful candidate from Ward No. 18 in Marakkanam Panchayat Union, a meeting of the ward members was scheduled to be conducted by the election officer on October 22. But one person, who aspired to become the chairman of the panchayat union, with the support of a sitting minister, allegedly prevented the members from participating in the election.

They created a ruckus at the venue and the EO postponed the election sine die, the petitioner alleged and prayed for the direction to the SEC to hold the meeting with sufficient police protection and CCTV cameras to ensure a free and fair election.

The SEC counsel submitted there were several places where the indirect elections, following the recent panchayat elections, had not been conducted because of local or peculiar difficulties.

"It is undesirable that the indirect elections be postponed because of obvious reasons," the bench said. Every endeavour should be made to ensure that the matter is brought to a logical end as expeditiously as possible, the bench added.

As regards the apprehension of the petitioner with regard to the safety and security of the elected candidates and the possibility of they being wooed by the other side, the bench directed the SEC and the local police to ensure that the elected members are secure and are not exposed to any undue pressure from any quarters, particularly at this stage when the indirect elections had not been concluded.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)