Centre, EC impleaded in candidates’ health report case

Justice N Kirubakaran while hearing a plea moved by SV Subbaiah of Anaimalai in Coimbatore district on observing that ‘such a criterion cannot be restricted only to local body polls but is also essential in the case of MLA and MP elections also,’ ordered notice to both the Centre and ECI, after suo motu impleading them. He then posted the case for further hearing to November 25. The petitioner had submitted that the elected representative is the voice of a voter to take decisions on his behalf. But a member may become bedridden after election owing to chronic illness thus immobilising him permanently from attending the sittings for the rest of his or her tenure. In such circumstances the voter will be a loser. Based on this, the responsibility is cast upon the voter to take an informed decision to elect a hale and healthy candidate as his representative and hence a report about the health conditions remain imminent, he said. 

The petitioner also noted that, “Every person being appointed to any public office right from a soldier to clerk to even the Judges of the HC are subjected to medical examination.”