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TN moves to allow deaf-mute candidates to contest civic polls | Deccan Chronicle
The state government has informed the Madras high court that it is making efforts to introduce a Bill in the state legislature to amend Section 37 of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994, to enable “deaf-mute” candidates to also contest local body elections.
“As the attention of the state government has been brought to the discrimination, particularly the unconstitutionality, the government has taken earnest efforts to introduce a Bill.
We are of the considered view except recording the response of the government, we are not inclined to go into various challenges made in the petition questioning the section,” said a division bench of Justices D. Murugesan and P.P.S. Janarthanaraja.
L.K. Venkat, a physically-challenged person had filed a public interest litigation pointing out that Section 37 (3) (a) of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats (TNP) Act disqualifies a deaf-mute candidate from contesting the election.
Venkat said in his petition that he had made a representation to the state election commissioner inviting his attention regarding the exclusion of deaf-mute in from the election under the TNP Act.
The petitioner contended that it was not proper to deny the right of a person that too to contest election.
The election commission expressed its inability to do anything at this stage. Since 1994 no steps have been taken by the election commission to approach the government to remove the disqualification of persons such as the deaf-mute.
For contesting election there was no such disqualification in respects of members of Parliament, members of the Legislative Assembly or in the municipal corporations.
There was no such bar either in the Constitution or under the Representation of People Act, he said.
The state government has informed the Madras high court that it is making efforts to introduce a Bill in the state legislature to amend Section 37 of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994, to enable “deaf-mute” candidates to also contest local body elections.
“As the attention of the state government has been brought to the discrimination, particularly the unconstitutionality, the government has taken earnest efforts to introduce a Bill.
We are of the considered view except recording the response of the government, we are not inclined to go into various challenges made in the petition questioning the section,” said a division bench of Justices D. Murugesan and P.P.S. Janarthanaraja.
L.K. Venkat, a physically-challenged person had filed a public interest litigation pointing out that Section 37 (3) (a) of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats (TNP) Act disqualifies a deaf-mute candidate from contesting the election.
Venkat said in his petition that he had made a representation to the state election commissioner inviting his attention regarding the exclusion of deaf-mute in from the election under the TNP Act.
The petitioner contended that it was not proper to deny the right of a person that too to contest election.
The election commission expressed its inability to do anything at this stage. Since 1994 no steps have been taken by the election commission to approach the government to remove the disqualification of persons such as the deaf-mute.
For contesting election there was no such disqualification in respects of members of Parliament, members of the Legislative Assembly or in the municipal corporations.
There was no such bar either in the Constitution or under the Representation of People Act, he said.