The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed an election petition challenging the election of DMK MP Kanimozhi from Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi constituency in 2019. Kanimozhi had challenged a Madras High Court order which had refused to dismiss the petition against her.
"The election petition is dismissed. Appeal is allowed," a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi said.
Kanimozhi's election was challenged by a voter, A Sanathana Kumar, on grounds that she failed to mention her husband's Permanent Account Number (PAN) in her election affidavit disclosing family assets.
The Madras High Court had earlier rejected the plea of Kanimozhi seeking dismissal of two election petitions filed by the voter and a BJP leader separately challenging her election to the Lok Sabha. The election petition should necessarily be taken to its logical end, it had said.
While dismissing Kanimozhi's plea, the high court had said that the election petitioner must be given a chance to marshal evidence to prove his claim of improper acceptance of nomination.
The DMK leader had said her husband was an NRI living in Singapore and he neither possessed a PAN card nor did he pay income tax in India.
Kanimozhi had defeated her nearest rival Tamilisai Soundararajan (now Governor of Telangana) of the BJP. Another plea challenging the election of Kanimozhi was filed by Soundararajan, who withdrew the plea after becoming the Governor of Telangana.
A Muthuramalingam, a local BJP leader, has substituted Soundararajan as a party in the high court.