Prof C M K Reddy, Chennai and Dr K R Balasubramaniam, Erode were today unanimously elected president and vice-president respectively of Tamil Nadu Medical Council. Dr K Prakasam (Salem), Dr A Muruganathan (Tiruppur) and Dr M Balasubramaniam (Tambaram) were elected as executive committee members of the council, according to a council press release.
The result comes after the elections were marred with controversy. Justice V. Kanakaraj had, on a writ petition alleging irregularities from Dr. S.Gnanasekaran of Vaniyambadi, passed an interim injunction staying the elections and directing the electoral roll be updated till 2002. The vice-president elect challenged the order of the single Judge contending that the revision of rolls could not be done when the election were announced.
The First Bench of the Madras High Court comprising Chief Justice B.Subhashan Reddy and Justice D.Murugesan has stayed the operation of an interim injunction granted by a single judge restraining the Tamil Nadu Medical Council from proceeding with its June 27 elections. It also observed that the elections should be held strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Medical Council Act and rules framed thereunder.
Dr. Balasubramanian in his petition maintained that practitioners registered after December 31, 2000 would be eligible to vote only in the 2007 election as per the practice and rule of the council. He maintained further that Dr. Gnanasekaran, who sought to stay the election, had not even disclosed his enrolment number in his affidavit and he could not be allowed to file nominations now, more so because he had not lodged any objection or representations with the Council.
He maintained further that the complainant had approached the court without exhausting the statutory remedies provided under Rule 16 of the Election Rules of the Council. The court, on its part, allowed the petition without hearing the other side. "The single Judge had failed to see that the election process had already commenced on Feb 27, 2002 when the precept dated Feb 11, 2002 was published in the newspapers on Feb 27, 2002. The returning officer for the election had completed all formalities and published the final electoral roll in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette. Since the process had been completed, it was not open to Dr. Gnansekaran to complain about any irregularity," Dr. Balasubramanian contended in his petition, explaining further that the single Judge had failed to see that there were over 53,000 registered voters and it was not possible to include the registered practitioners after Dec 31, 2000, the cut off date.
The Tamil Nadu Medical Council was formed in 1915 and as of February this year, the council had 69,342 doctors registered with it. While elections held in the Council were held more out of routine than anything else, the current elections witnessed contest between 26 contestants for seven elected posts, an unprecedented one in the history of the elections at the Council.