Madras High Court reserves orders on pleas filed by OPS and others against AIADMK resolutions, General Secretary polls

The Madras High Court on Wednesday reserved orders on a batch of pleas filed by former Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Paneerselvam (OPS) and three other expelled AIADMK party members seeking, among other reliefs, that the party be restrained from giving effect to its July 11, 2022 General Council resolutions. .Conducting a day-long special hearing on a non-working day, Justice K Kumaresh Babu reserved orders in the pleas which also challenged the elections to the post of General Secretary called for by the party..During its July 11 meeting, the General Council had abolished the post of the Coordinator and Joint Coordinator, and instead declared OPS' political rival and former Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) as the interim General Secretary of the party. The Council had expelled OPS and others from the party, on the ground that they had indulged in anti-party activities..On Wednesday, senior counsel for one of the expelled leaders, argued that the party did not have the power to take extreme steps such as expelling primary members without even giving them a fair hearing. "Whenever such disciplinary action is taken, the person against whom action is to be taken should be called upon to give his explanation. When you are dealing with political parties, you are dealing with the Representation of the People Act and constitutional provisions. You can not implant the provisions of contract ipso jure and lift your hands," he argued. Counsel for the petitioners argued that rules had been amended in favour of EPS, who has filed his nomination for the post of General Secretary and is likely to be elected to the post. They said that OPS was ready to contest the General Secretary elections if given a chance.The Court was also told that the decision to have a single leader for the party had been taken to strengthen the organisation, and the eligibility criteria for members to contest for the post of General Secretary had been amended to ensure that those who did not enjoy the support of party members, did not enter the fray..Senior Advocates appearing for EPS and the AIADMK, however, told the Court that OPS and the others were trying to scuttle the voice of the party members by opposing the elections and the General Council resolutions. They also argued that courts cannot interfere with the internal matters of a political party..Senior Advocates CS Vaidyanathan and Vijay Narayan appeared for EPS and the AIADMK General Council. Senior Advocates Guru Krishnakumar, PS Raman, C Manishankar, AK Sriram appeared for Paneerselvam, Pandian, Vaithilingam, and Prabhakar.