The High Court of Madras is to take up the DMK’s petition challenging cancellation of the by-polls in R.K. Nagar, Chennai.

Election Commission announced early this year that R.K. Nagar’s electorate would vote on 12th April to elect a successor to deceased Tamil Nadu chief-minister J. Jayallithaa, who passed away under mysterious circumstances on the night of 05th December last year.

The by-polls were cancelled at the eleventh hour after the Election Commission was informed by income-tax authorities about the raids it conducted at premises of Dinakaran (who was then with the ruling AIADMK) and a few Ministers and the recovery of documents which suggested the existence of cash-for-vote. A letter even revealed the name of the chief-minister as having indulged in this practice.

Some time back, Chief Election Commissioner Achchal Kumar Jyoti said that the by-polls should have been held in R.K. Nagar by the year-end which is only six weeks away. DMK’s R.S. Barathi and Marudhuganesh moved the High Court to know the reason for the delay in conducting the by-poll.

The Election Commission said that such pending cases made it difficult to fix a date for conduct of the R.K. Nagar by-poll.  Following this, Chief Justice of Madras High Court Indira Banerjee said that the DMK’s petition would be taken up on Tuesday (today) and would be disposed off at once.