Madras High Court dismisses case against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s secretary Umanath

The Madras High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking a direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to act against Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s secretary P. Umanath for having violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by issuing administrative instructions to Collectors and police officers.

The First Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan rejected the plea by advocate A. Mohandoss, who sought Mr. Umanath’s transfer, after the ECI counsel Niranjan Rajagopalan said that the petitioner had not submitted any material to substantiate his allegation. The counsel further said that a PIL petition could not be filed for transferring a government official.