Supreme Court upheld the Madras HC’s decision allowing EPS to remain the AIADMK’s interim General Secretary

Last Updated on February 25, 2023 by Administrator

The Supreme Court upheld the Madras High Court division bench’s decision on Thursday to maintain Edappadi Palaniswamy (EPS) as the temporary general secretary of the party, dealing a setback to O Paneerselvam (OPS) in the cases involving the AIADMK leadership dispute. Also, the Madras High Court judgment from June 23, 2022, prohibiting the AIADMK General Council from adopting any resolutions, has been overturned by the court, making the interim order issued on July 6, 2022, which was issued on July 6, 2022, absolute.

On January 12, a division bench consisting of Justices Dinesh Maheswari and Hrishikesh Roy had reserved judgment. The whole verdict has not yet been uploaded.

When reading out the operative portions, Judge Maheshwari made it clear that the Court’s observations only apply to the temporary orders issued by the High Court and have no influence on the lawsuit currently before the High Court concerning the disagreements between OPS and EPS. All other matters in the case are still up for decision by the court. The Court further stated that it had not addressed the issues raised by the suit’s claims about the legality of the general council meeting on July 11, 2022.

The Madras High Court’s division bench reversed a single bench decision on September 2, 2022 to maintain the status quo with regard to the AIADMK leadership as it was prior to Edappadi Palanisamy’s election as the party’s interim general secretary on July 11. The court dismissed OPS’s petitions challenging that decision. According to the bye-laws, the general council meetings can only be called with the permission of both OPS and ESP, the single bench had noted. The division bench, however, overturned the temporary decision for the status quo after noting that it would result in a “functional impasse” because OPS and EPS were unable to work cooperatively.

The crucial event in the lawsuit was the party’s general council meeting on July 11, last year. At that meeting, the AIADMK executive council dismissed O. Panneerselvam (OPS) from the party for engaging in “anti-party actions” and named former chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) as the party’s interim general secretary.

Senior Counsel Guru Krishna Kumar and Mr. Ranjit Kumar, who represent OPS, argued in favor of upholding the single bench’s decision, claiming that it was made in compliance with the party’s bye-laws, which require the permission of both OPS and EPS in order to call general council sessions.

Senior Counsel C.S. Vaidyanathan, Aryama Sundaram, Mukul Rohatgi, and Atul Yeshwant Chitale argued on behalf of EPS that the High Court cannot intervene in a political party’s internal decisions that have been made at a general council meeting.

Due to the delay in the court’s judgment, this piece will be continued. It will be updated after the verdict.

Written By – Srijan