DMK's M Appavu Won 2016 State Polls. He Was Declared Winner 10 Years Later

Nearly a decade after he was declared defeated in one of Tamil Nadu's most closely contested Assembly elections, former Tamil Nadu Speaker and senior DMK leader M Appavu has finally secured judicial vindication. In a landmark verdict, the Madras High Court on Wednesday declared that Appavu had, in fact, won the 2016 Assembly election from the Radhapuram constituency, overturning the victory of AIADMK candidate IS Inbadurai.

Justice G Jayachandran ruled that the election of Inbadurai was invalid and directed that Appavu be officially recorded as the elected MLA for the 2016-2021 Assembly term. The court also ordered that all monetary benefits due to an MLA for that period be paid to Appavu and directed the State Chief Secretary to incorporate his name in official government records as the elected representative from Radhapuram.

A relieved Appavu told NDTV, "I am happy justice has won. It's a gutsy order."

The legal battle traces its roots to the 2016 Assembly election in Tirunelveli district's Radhapuram constituency. The original result had declared Inbadurai the winner by a narrow margin of 49 votes over Appavu. Challenging the outcome, Appavu approached the High Court alleging irregularities in the counting process, particularly in postal ballots and votes recorded during the 19th, 20th and 21st rounds of counting.

In 2019, the High Court ordered a recount of EVM votes and postal ballots. However, the process became entangled in prolonged litigation, with Inbadurai challenging the recount order before both the High Court and the Supreme Court. While the top court permitted the recount, it restrained authorities from announcing the results, effectively keeping the outcome under wraps for years.

By the time the matter returned to the High Court, two subsequent Assembly elections - in 2021 and 2026 - had already been completed. Observing that an election dispute could not remain unresolved indefinitely, the court examined the recount findings and brought the decade-long litigation to a close.

The recount revealed that of the 203 disputed postal ballots, 153 votes were found valid in Appavu's favour, while 44 were rejected. The revised tally showed Appavu winning the election by 104 votes.

The verdict dramatically rewrites the political history of the constituency. Appavu went on to win the 2021 Assembly election and became Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Inbadurai, meanwhile, remained active in politics and was nominated by the AIADMK to the Rajya Sabha in 2025.

While the court noted that recovering salary and allowances already paid to Inbadurai as MLA would be impractical since he had performed the duties of the office, the judgment is expected to deny him pensionary benefits linked to the disputed Assembly term.

For Appavu, the ruling marks the end of a ten-year fight and a rare instance of an election verdict being judicially corrected long after the political battle itself had moved on. Inbadurai is yet to comment.