The Supreme Court is set to take up the final hearing of an appeal challenging the 2011 Tamil Nadu Assembly election victory of Chief Minister MK Stalin from the Kolathur constituency, bringing renewed focus to a long-pending case involving allegations of electoral malpractice.
The case relates to the 2011 Assembly polls, in which Stalin, then the treasurer of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), defeated former Chennai mayor and AIADMK candidate Saidai Duraisamy by a margin of approximately 2,700–2,800 votes. Following the defeat, Duraisamy filed an election petition alleging corrupt practices, including misuse of government machinery, distribution of money to voters, and expenditure exceeding the limit prescribed by the Election Commission. He sought to have Stalin’s election declared void.
After prolonged proceedings, the Madras High Court dismissed Duraisamy’s petition on 1 June 2017, holding that Stalin’s victory was valid. Duraisamy subsequently filed an appeal before the Supreme Court of India, which was admitted on 18 August 2017. However, despite directions for early listing, the appeal remained pending for several years.
In 2022, Stalin himself sought an early hearing of the appeal. A Bench headed by then Chief Justice NV Ramana took note of submissions by senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Amit Anand Tiwari, who argued that the matter had been pending since 2017 despite relating to the 2011 elections. During that hearing, the Bench reportedly remarked, “You are already elected then what is your problem,” to which Sibal responded that the pendency of allegations of corrupt practices against the sitting Chief Minister warranted an expeditious hearing.
The plea filed at the time stated that the appeal was originally directed to be listed for hearing in January 2018, and later for 20 March 2018, but was not taken up thereafter. It noted that election petitions are required to be heard and decided expeditiously and that continued pendency was causing hardship to the respondent.
The matter is now being heard by a Bench comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi. The Bench has earlier directed Duraisamy to file a concise note along with relevant documents summarising all materials already on record.
முதல்வர் ஸ்டாலின் எதிராக திரு சைதை துரைச்சாமி தொடர்ந்த வழக்கு நாளை உச்சநீதிமன்றத்தில் விசாரணைக்கு வரவுள்ளது.
வருட கணக்கில் நிலுவையில் இருந்த வழக்கு முடிவுக்கு வருகிறது. நியாயங்கள் நீதிமன்றத்தில் நிலை நாட்டவேண்டும்.Long pending Saidai Duraisamy vs M. K. Stalin is case posted… pic.twitter.com/aizMOORpsx
— K.S.Radhakrishnan (@KSRadhakrish) January 20, 2026
Source: Daily Thanthi
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