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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
(Special Original Jurisdiction)
W. P. No. 20247 of 2026
Mrs. Vasuki.L
C/ o. Rajarajan,
No.17, Palayakara Street,
Bhuvanagiri,
Cuddalore – 608 601. …Petitioner
Versus
1. The Election Commission of India,
Represented by its Chief Election Commissioner,
Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road,
New Delhi – 110001.

2. Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu, Secretariat,
Fort St. George,
Chennai – 600 009.

3. The State of Tamil Nadu,
Represented by its Chief Secretary,
Fort St. George,
Chennai – 600 009.

4. Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam,
Represented by its President,
Chennai

5. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam,
Represented by its President,
Chennai.

6. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam,
Represented by its General Secretary,
Chennai …Respondents

COUNTER AFFIDAVIT FILED ON BEHALF OF THE 1ST AND 2ND RESPONDENTS
I, Archana Patnaik, D/o ________, currently serving as the Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu, having office at Public (Elections) Department, Secretariat, Fort St. George, Chennai – 600 009, do hereby solemnly affirm and sincerely state as follows:
1. I respectfully submit that I am the 2nd Respondent officer herein, and I am well acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case from record. I am an officer under the Direct Superintendence and Control of the 1st Respondent and authorised to swear this affidavit on behalf of the 1st Respondent.
2. I respectfully submit that at the outset the prayer in the writ petition is not maintainable in law and is liable to be dismissed on this sole ground.
3. I respectfully submit that the petition seeks investigation by the answering respondents into alleged corrupt practices, said to be committed by Respondents 4 to 6.
4. I respectfully submit that in this regard, the writ petition makes allegations of two fold nature, (i) in so far as the 4th Respondent in Para. 9 to 11 of the affidavit that an appeal was made towards the children to influence their parents etc. in relation to voting preference (ii) allegations of distribution of money and electoral bribery from paras. 13 to 16. The said issues are responded to hereby in the following manner.
5. I respectfully submit that on the aspect of the allegations of electoral bribery and inducement of voters, it is already dealt with vide provisions Ss. 170 and 173 of the BNSS, 2023 as well as a ground for challenge for setting aside the election under S. 100 (1) (b) of the Representation of People Act, 1951. The said provision is extracted for ease of reference below:
100. Grounds for declaring election to be void.—(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2) if the High Court is of opinion- …
(b) that any corrupt practice has been committed by a returned candidate or his election agent or by any other person with the consent of a returned candidate or his election agent; or …
the High Court shall declare the election of the returned candidate to be void.
6. I respectfully submit that the Election Commission of India had already put into place several additional measures for election expenditure monitoring and to prevent distribution of money to constitute flying squads, static surveillance teams and video surveillance teams in the course of discharge of their functions several seizures have been made. Since the activation of the Election Seizure Management System, a total amount of Rs. 599.24 (Rupees Five Hundred Ninety Nine Crores and Twenty Four Lakhs only) was seized by the 2283 Flying Squad Teams and 2221 Static Surveillance Teams (SSTs) in Tamil Nadu till 22nd April, 2026.
7. I respectfully submit that the law mandates specific procedure in respective of trial of election related cases and offences under the provision of the Representation of People Act, 1951, BNS and BNSS and any remedial action is to be sought only in relation to the strict confines of the existing statutory framework and not in derogation thereof.
8. I respectfully submit that there is no representation of the Petitioner that is stated to have been made and has enclosed another person’s representation as material and the same cannot be relied upon as basis for filing this writ petition.
9. I respectfully submit that while it is not in dispute that children cannot be employed for the purpose of election related activity, be it from the official’s side nor from the political parties. A press release dated 05.02.2024 was infact released by the Commission reiterating its instructions, in this regard that, Political Parties and Candidates should refrain from using children in political campaigns in any manner. A copy of the same is filed along this Affidavit as an Annexure. In the present writ petition, there is no particular or direct instance of children having been part of the campaign, that has been alleged or established.
10. It is respectfully submitted that all voters are adult individuals and are capable of taking their own decisions and are protected by law for maintaining secrecy of such vote and there cannot be any presumption of there having been indirect pressure to vote for a particular party.
11. I respectfully submit that undue influence on a voter is defined as a corrupt practice under S. 123 of the 1951 Act and instances which are falling clearly within the definition of undue influence have to be examined in accordance with law, to have any implications on the concluded elections.
12. I respectfully submit that in so far as the desirability of permitting campaigns which are addressed towards children who are not voters so that they may persuade their parents and elders at home, in the age of social media access will be examined and if required suitable guidelines will be put in place if the situation warrants. This Hon’ble Court may allow the Commission to treat this petition, in that regard, as a representation and dispose of the same accordingly.
13. I respectfully submit that in the light of the stand taken above, specific para-wise remarks are not made, and the Respondents reserve their right to do so, if required.
14. In the circumstances, it is prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to take this counter affidavit on record, dismiss the writ petition and pass any such further or other order that this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case and thus render justice.

Solemnly affirmed at Chennai Before Me,
On this the 25th day of May, 2026
And signed in my presence Notary, Chennai