The Supreme Court today refused to stay the expulsion of former Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam and three others from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (AIADMK) during a general council meeting of the party in July 2022. The apex court stated that the injunction at this stage will lead to a huge chaos.
Dismissing the plea moved separately by the leaders, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, added that there was apparently a split in the party. The bench observed that the dispute will have to work itself out in a trial by leading evidence and staying the resolution of expulsion will spark different problems.
The bench told the senior advocates appearing for OPS, JCD Prabhakar, R Vaithilingam and PH Manoj Pandian to continue with the suit and that they cannot pass an order. They added that if they interfere at this stage, it will amount to decreeing. The bench mentioned that the petitioners have to succeed in the suit for the relief they ultimately want.
Appearing for the petitioners, Senior advocates KK Venugopal, Guru Krishnakumar and Gopal Sankaranarayanan, complained that the expulsion has resulted in a political death for the leaders and that they have been unjustly forced out of their own party. Senior Advocate KK Venugopal argued that the decision in the trial in the suit may take five years. Questioning if they should be left in limbo indefinitely, the Senior Advocate stated that the court has the power to undo any injustice.
Nonetheless, the Supreme Court bench remained unmoved and stated that they will not interfere because by allowing the plea at this stage, will subsequently allow the suit. In the dismissal order, the bench recorded that granting injunction will have its own unpalatable consequences.
The bench further clarified that the observations by the Madras High Court in its order refusing to stay the expulsion will not be treated as an expression of merits in the case. The Supreme Court also addressed the issue of pending trial to determine the intra-party dispute and the order of expulsion, recording in its order that it expected that the trial in the civil suit will proceed expeditiously and that parties will not take unnecessary adjournments.
Additionally, the apex court granted three weeks to the AIADMK general secretary and former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, three weeks to file written submissions in the pending suit. Senior lawyer CA Sundaram represented the EPS camp in the apex court.
The Madras high court on August 25, 2023 had refused to stay the expulsion of OPS and three others from the AIADMK, noting the bylaws of the party made it clear that the general council is the ultimate authority to take disciplinary action against any party members and that the merits of their decision in expelling the leaders is necessarily a matter for trial.