The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a petition that alleged that people in Tamil Nadu had been bribed on a massive scale ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, PTI reported. “As elections in the state of Tamil Nadu are over, we are not inclined to entertain this petition,” said the three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.

The top court had earlier asked the Election Commission to respond to the petitioner’s request to create awareness through television channels, newspapers and radio that bribing voters or accepting cash for votes is a punishable offence. The petitioner also pointed out that Rs 78.12 crore in cash had been seized in the state during period of election campaigns, and pointed out that the Election Commission had designated all Lok Sabha seats in the state and Puducherry as “expenditure sensitive”.

Last week, the parliamentary election in Vellore was cancelled amid allegations of suspected use of money to influence voters. President Ram Nath Kovind accepted the poll body’s recommendation, dated April 14, to rescind the election. The decision to countermand the polls was taken after cash was seized at the homes of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Treasurer Durai Murugan and his son on March 29 and March 30.

On Wednesday, the Income Tax Department seized Rs 1.48 crore in cash allegedly stashed to bribe voters in Theni district. The money was found in a store belonging to a functionary of TTV Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam.

In 2017, the Election Commission had countermanded elections to the RK Nagar Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu twice. The year before, the poll body had postponed elections in Aravakurichi and Thanjavur during the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, after cash amounting to crores was recovered from sites belonging to persons affiliated with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.