Supreme Court Rejects Plea Seeking CBI Probe into Alleged Horse-Trading in TN Trust Vote

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking an investigation into alleged irregularities and horse-trading during the May 13 trust vote in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, observing that the allegations were “vague, wild and casual” and were not supported by any reliable material.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana refused to entertain the plea filed by K K Ramesh, which sought a CBI probe into claims that some legislators were allegedly offered money to support the confidence motion moved by the C Joseph Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government .

The petitioner had alleged that lawmakers from various parties were involved in horse-trading and claimed that large sums of money were allegedly distributed to certain MLAs by the ruling party. The plea also sought the imposition of President’s Rule in Tamil Nadu until the completion of the proposed investigation.

Appearing for the petitioner, advocate C R Jaya Sukin argued that the matter raised concerns about the weakening of democratic institutions, alleging that political parties across the country were using money and pressure tactics to influence legislators.

However, the Supreme Court bench said the petition contained only broad allegations without substantive evidence to support the claims. The court noted that there were no grounds to initiate any proceedings and dismissed the plea.

The controversy relates to the May 13 trust vote, where the TVK government secured a comfortable victory after receiving support from 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs amid a walkout by the opposition DMK.

Although TVK did not have a majority on its own in the 234-member Assembly, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay , who took oath on May 10, managed to secure support from parties including Congress, VCK, CPI, CPI(M), and IUML , taking the government’s strength beyond the required majority mark.

Opposition parties had earlier levelled allegations of horse-trading during the formation of the government, but Vijay rejected the accusations.