In four months after the election victory, senior ADMK MLA Natham Viswanathan has invited fresh trouble as his victory has been challenged in a court. According to reports, the Madras High Court had on Monday issued a notice to the Election Commission of India and to Natham Viswanathan based on the petition filed by the DMK candidate who had contested against Viswanathan in the 2021 assembly polls. 

Viswanathan had served as a Tamil Nadu Minister in J Jayalalithaa's cabinet and he was one of the senior ADMK leaders in the state. He was also a part of the five-minister committee that was formed by Jayalalithaa during her reign to look after party related matters. In the 2021 polls, Viswanathan had contested from his home turf - Natham in Dindigul district. He contested against DMK's MA Andiambalam. Viswanathan was one of the ADMK leaders who made it to the shores of victory amid the anti-incumbency wave against the ADMK regime led by Edappadi Palaniswami. 

Viswanathan had secured 1,07,762 votes in the 2021 polls while Andiambalam had got 95,830 votes. After the tight race, Viswanathan had won the polls in a margin of 11,932 votes. Four months after the polls, DMK's Andiambalam had approached the Madras High Court and sought a directive to declare Viswanathan's victory as null and void. Senior lawyer P Wilson, who appeared for Andiambalam, had contended that the elected candidate had suppressed certain material facts in Form 26 of the nomination papers. 

Wilson argued that Viswanathan had misused the government machinery for campaigning and he also had distributed cash to voters and other forms of gifts to gain votes. Wilson further said that Viswanathan had violated the electoral codes by campaigning during the 48 hours before the polling and the cumulative amount he had spent was Rs 34.26 crore, which is much beyond the allowed limit. Wilson said that Viswanathan had distributed sarees and liquor bottles and given Rs 10,000 each to 926 women self-help groups. 

The petitioner's counsel had sought a directive from the High Court to declare Viswanathan's victory as null and void. After the hearing, the high court bench headed by Justice Seshasayee had issued the notice, returnable within six weeks, to the Election Commission of India and to Natham Viswanathan to respond to the matter.