S. MANIKUMAR & SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD, JJ.

(Common Prayer: Writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus calling for the records comprised in the impugned notification bearing reference number S.O. 1609(E) and F.No.H-11024/1/2019-Leg.II, dated 16.04.2019, and issued by the 1st Respondent and quash the same as illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional and consequently direct the respondents to conduct the election to 8- Vellore Parliamentary Constituency as scheduled on 18.04.2019.)

1. W.P.No.11977 of 2019 is filed by Mr.A.C.Shanmugam, seeking for a writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, to quash the records, comprised in the notification bearing reference number S.O. 1609(E) and F.No.H- 11024/1/2019-Leg-II, dated 16.04.2019, issued by the 1st respondent, which has effectively directed countermanding/cancellation of the parliamentary constituency on 18.04.2019 and consequently, direct to the respondents to proceed with the conduct of the Parliamentary/Lok Sabha elections for the Vellore Parliamentary Constituency as scheduled on 18.04.2019.

2. Prayer in W.P.No.11978 of 2019, filed by an independent candidate, Mr.K.Sugumar, is also for the same relief.

3. As both the writ petitions are filed for the same relief, prayer with averments and submissions in common, they are taken up together and disposed of by a common order.

Facts in W.P.No.11977 of 2019 are as follows:

4. It is the case of Mr.A.C.Shanmugam, petitioner, that he is a candidate contesting in the 17th Lok Sabha Elections from the Vellore Parliamentary Constituency in Tamil Nadu, representing the AIADMK party. The polling for the said election is to be held on 18.04.2019. While so, the Petitioner came across news reports published by several leading media houses regarding raids conducted by the Election Commission officials along with officials from the Income Tax Department in premises allegedly belonging to or associated with a candidate contesting the elections on behalf of a rival political party, during the night intervening between 29.03.2019 & 30.03.2019 and thereafter. It is understood from these news reports that excess cash amounting to several lakhs, if not crores, have been seized from the premises belonging to the said candidate as well as those belonging to his associates. It is understood that the Election Commission has subsequently initiated investigations into allegations that the said cash was intended to be used for the purpose of illegally influencing voters.

5. It is further contended that if the same is proved, it would only establish that the candidate has indulged in multiple violations of election laws, including Clause I(4) of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) which mandates that candidates shall not commit any 'corrupt practices'. The said conduct is in violatin of other statutory provisions as well as the Manual on the MCC (March 2019 -Document No. 21, Edition No.1) issued by the Election Commission of India [Para 4.4.2(B)(IX)]. The said Manual mandates that Candidates shall not carry / possess "huge amounts of cash during elections".

6. According to the petitioner the conduct of the said candidate is also liable to be investigated for violation of Section 8A of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951 (hereinafter, referred to as the 'RP Act'). However, as is evident from a bare perusal of the said provision, the statutory mechanism envisages only the disqualification of a candidate for the commission of such corrupt practices. As such, the proper remedial measure in the present case, assuming that the Election Commission's findings are accurate, would be the disqualification of the concerned candidate.

7. In such circumstances, the 1st Respondent herein has however proceeded to issue the impugned notification numbered F.No.H-11024/1/2019-Leg.II dated 16.04.2019, wherein, it has sought to "partially rescind the Notification No.1389, dated 19th March 2019 in so far as it relates to calling up