Velachery Congress MLA Aassan Maulaana J.M.H. has approached the Madras High Court challenging a show-cause notice issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on March 16, 2023, seeking an explanation as to why he should not be disqualified for reportedly not having made a true disclosure of his election expenditure in 2021.
First Division Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan on Friday (September 12, 2025) ordered notice to the ECI after hearing senior counsel P. Wilson, appearing for the MLA. The judges asked ECI standing counsel Niranjan Rajagopalan to ensure the Commission files a counter affidavit within two weeks.
In the show-cause notice, the ECI had pointed out that Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, requires every candidate in an election to maintain, either by himself or by his election agent, a separate and correct account of all expenditure incurred between the date of nomination and date of declaration of results.
Further, Section 78 of the Act requires every candidate to submit the account to the District Election Officer within 30 days of the date of election of the returned candidate. Failure to do so could lead to disqualification from contesting elections for a period of three years from the date of passing of the disqualification order.
