# Madras HC warns CM Vijay, Minister Arjuna with Rs 50,000 cost 2026-08-26T04:48:06+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Madras High Court on Tuesday warned Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and Public Works Minister Aadhav Arjuna that it could impose an exemplary cost of Rs 50,000 each if they sought further adjournments to file applications seeking rejection of election petitions challenging their 2026 Assembly election victories. Justice V Lakshminarayanan orally remarked, "I'm not bothered about the personalities," and noted that election petitions must be disposed of within six months. Counsel for the leaders said applications were ready but signatures were delayed due to the ongoing Assembly session. The court adjourned the matter to August 27 after counsel assured the applications would be filed in a day. The election petitions, filed by DMK candidates and voters, allege that Vijay appealed to children in a campaign speech to influence their parents' votes, violating election rules, and that his financial affidavit had defects. Two petitions also challenge Arjuna's victory from Villivakkam. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The court's warning comes as the six-month statutory deadline for disposing of election petitions, under Section 86 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, looms. The High Court admitted these petitions in July, meaning a decision is expected by January 2027. The key allegation, that Vijay involved minors in campaigning, draws on a strict Election Commission prohibition under the Model Code of Conduct. If the petitions are not rejected at this threshold stage, the court will proceed to a full trial, examining evidence from the April 21 campaign speech. The next hearing on August 27 will show whether the leaders' applications are accepted or the court proceeds to examine the petitions' merits. ## Coverage - thenewsminute.com Straight factual report of court proceedings with no evaluative language This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Aadhav Arjuna, C Joseph Vijay, election petition, Madras High Court, Tamil Nadu Assembly, V Lakshminarayanan Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/madras-hc-warns-cm-vijay-minister-arjuna-with-rs-50000-cost/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/madras-hc-warns-cm-vijay-minister-arjuna-with-rs-50000-cost/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/