Madras High Court rejects expelled AIADMK leaders’ interim applications against party’s 2022 general council resolutions

Applications by O. Panneerselvam and three other expelled leaders challenging the party’s resolutions that abolished the posts of coordinator and joint coordinator and revived the post of general secretary, were rejected; however a Division Bench has agreed to hear, on Wednesday, an urgent appeal against this order

The Madras High Court on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 rejected all interim applications filed by AIADMK expelled leaders O. Panneerselvam, P.H. Arvindh Pandian, R. Vaithilingam and J.C.D. Prabhakar, challenging the July 11, 2022 party general council resolutions as well as the party’s consequent general secretary election.

Justice K. Kumaresh Babu held that he did not find any ground to entertain the applications that had urged the court to restrain the party from implementing the resolutions which abolished the posts of Coordinator and Joint Coordinator, and decided to revive the post of general secretary, to be elected by primary members.

The plaintiff had also challenged a special resolution through which they were expelled from primary membership of the party and a subsequent notification, issued on March 17 this year, for the conduct of a party election for the post of general secretary.

The first round of litigation, initiated by Mr. Panneerselvam last year before the Madras High Court had ended in February this year with the Supreme Court upholding the validity of the convening of the July 11 general council meet.

Thereafter, Mr. Pandian had come with a fresh civil suit on March 2 this year challenging the resolutions passed at the meet. He had questioned the special resolution expelling four leaders, including himself, from primary membership of the party, as well as the other resolutions which abolished the posts of Coordinator and Joint Coordinator, besides reviving the post of general secretary to be elected by the primary members of the party. A resolution appointing Edappadi K. Palaniswami as interim general secretary was also challenged.

After he filed the case, Mr. Vaithilingam and Mr. Prabhakar too, filed individual suits with similar prayers. Justice Babu heard preliminary arguments advanced by their counsel on March 17 and adjourned the hearing by two weeks for filing of counter affidavits by the AIADMK and its general council. However, on the same day, the party notified the general secretary election.

This led to the three litigants moving urgent applications against the election notification and the plea was heard in a special sitting held on March 19, a Sunday. After about two hours of hearing, the judge felt it would be better to hear the new applications against the election notification along with the previous applications against the general council resolutions and dispose of them together.