SC dismisses plea seeking probe into 'irregularities' in TN Assembly trust vote

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking probe into the allegations of irregularities and horse-trading in the May 13 trust vote in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, saying the petition was based upon "vague, wild and casual allegations".


The C Joseph Vijay-led TVK government in Tamil Nadu on May 13 crossed a major hurdle by comfortably winning the trust vote with the support of 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs amid a walkout by the DMK.



The plea, which claimed that some MLAs from other parties were allegedly involved in horse-trading in Tamil Nadu and huge money was purportedly handed over to certain lawmakers by the TVK, came up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana.

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The plea said the probe into the matter should be handed over to the CBI and until the investigation is complete, President's Rule be implemented in the state.


Advocate C R Jaya Sukin, who appeared for petitioner K K Ramesh, told the bench that the petition raises an important issue as ruling parties across the country were undermining democratic institutions.


He referred to the instances of lawmakers allegedly being flown in chartered flights and resigning before joining other political parties in some states.


"In this country, every ruling party is destroying democratic institutions," Sukin argued.
He alleged that some lawmakers were either being given money or threatened with jail to switch political parties.
The bench said the petition filed before it was "based upon vague, wild and casual allegations without any reliable material on record to substantiate the claims".


While dismissing the plea, the bench said there were no grounds to entertain the petition.
The plea alleged that floor test in Tamil Nadu Assembly was reportedly not carried out according to the democratic principles.
"In the Tamil Nadu Assembly, some MLAs from other parties were allegedly involved in horse-trading, and huge amounts of money were handed over to certain MLAs by TVK," it claimed.


Actor-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay took oath as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on May 10.
Although the TVK on its own did not secure the majority in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, Vijay managed to get support from the Congress, VCK, CPI, CPI (M) and IUML to gather 120 MLAs and cross the 118 mark to form the government, an act seen as a demonstration of his political adaptability beyond his image as a popular actor.


The Opposition levelled allegations of horse-trading that were rejected by Vijay.