Madras High Court asks Election Commission to explain Jayalalithaa’s thumb impression on a poll form
The judged asked whether the poll body had authorised the doctor to attest her thumb impression.
The Madras High Court on Wednesday asked the principal secretary of the Election Commission to depose before it on October 6 to explain the use of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s thumb impression on poll documents, PTI reported.
The court sought to know whether the provisions of the Representation of Peoples Act were followed during the process. The thumb impression was taken when Jayalalithaa was hospitalised before her death in December 2016.
Justice P Velumurugan asked the principal secretary to explain whether the Election Commission had authorised the doctor attending to Jayalalithaa to attest her thumb impression on the nomination form of AK Bose, a candidate for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam who was contesting bye-elections in November 2016, the Hindustan Times reported.
The court’s summons come after Bose’s rival from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, P Saravanan, raised doubts over the thumb impression.
The poll document was attested by Dr P Balaji, a professor of minimal access surgery at the Madras Medical College and Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. It was also signed by Dr Babu K Abraham of Apollo Hospitals. Reports had said that Jayalalithaa had put her left thumb impression on the nomination paper as her right hand was inflamed.