Madras High Court Criticizes Use of Children in Political Campaigns

Chennai, October 16 (Daily Kiran) : The Madras High Court has expressed strong disapproval of the inclusion of children in political campaigning, particularly in relation to the Tamilaga Vetrikuzhagam (TVK) party led by Joseph Vijay. The court described this practice as politically motivated and indicative of poor parenting.

Justice D. Bharath Chakravarthy made these remarks while dismissing an election petition against TVK MLA K. Shivakumar. He emphasized that neither political parties nor their candidates should engage children in any electoral activities.

The court’s comments came in response to allegations that TVK had utilized children for campaigning during the recent assembly elections. Justice Chakravarthy stated that involving children in such promotional activities is entirely inappropriate.

He pointed out that allowing children to participate reflects poor upbringing. The court noted that creating campaign reels featuring children is not only undignified but also serves a political agenda.

The court raised the question of whether such activities should be prohibited or considered grounds for annulment of elections, suggesting this is a significant issue for parliamentary consideration.

These comments were made as the court accepted a plea from Shivakumar, who sought to dismiss an election petition challenging his victory in the Salem North constituency.

The petition alleged that Joseph Vijay directly appealed to children, urging them to convince their parents and family members to vote for TVK and its symbol, ‘CT’. It claimed that several social media reels emerged, showing children pressuring their parents and grandparents to support TVK.

The court highlighted the core issue of whether a political leader’s outreach to children and urging them to persuade their parents constitutes undue influence. It referenced the definition of ‘undue influence’ under the Representation of the People Act and cited a detailed examination by the Supreme Court in the Shiv Kripal Singh case.

The court noted the circumstances in which children appeared in the videos. It observed that the children did not possess mobile phones and were not independently creating reels. Instead, adults encouraged them to participate in these activities, showcasing the political leader’s appeal and promoting the content.

Thus, the court concluded that this behavior could not be seen as children independently influencing adult decision-making. Instead, it could be interpreted as an attempt to persuade adults to vote for a specific political party and its candidates.