The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the order of Madras High Court order, which had refused to de-seal the headquarters of AIADMK party and said no to handing over the keys to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS).
A Bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, Justice Hima Kohli and Justice C.T. Ravikumar, while upholding the High Court order, also issued notice to the Revenue Divisional Officer and the EPS faction on the petition preferred by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam (OPS).
The headquarters of AIADMK were sealed and locked by the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), following clashes between the factions of EPS and OPS on July 11.
Appearing for OPS, Senior Advocate Shekhar Naphade contended that the former Chief Minister continued to be the Coordinator and he should have access of the party office.
He referred to the High Court verdict, which had directed for holding a new general council meeting. The Counsel further requested the Apex Court to stay the High Court order.
Representing EPS, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi said that OPS was not the coordinator. Besides Rohatgi, EPS was also represented by Senior Advocate K.V. Vishwanathan and Advocates K Gowtham Kumar, Shiva Krishnamurti and Balaji Srinivasan.
The Supreme Court bench, headed by CJI Ramana, said it will not pass any order without hearing the matter.
On July 20, 2022, the High Court had ordered the RDO to hand over the keys of the headquarters to Palanisamy and directed the police to provide necessary protection to ensure that no untoward incident takes place. The verdict came on a petition filed by Palaniswamy, challenging the RDO’s order.