Madras HC Upholds Speaker Ruling on 21 AIADMK MLAs Over TVK Trust Vote

The Madras High Court has upheld Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar's ruling regarding disqualification proceedings against 21 AIADMK MLAs, observing that the party leadership itself had formally condoned their actions.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan dismissed a petition filed by advocate P.V. Selvakumar, which had challenged the Speaker's decision.

The case arose after 21 legislators from the AIADMK voted in favour of the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) government, defying the whip issued by their party. Following the vote, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami sent a letter to the Speaker officially condoning the actions of the 21 MLAs.

The petitioner argued before the court that the disqualification proceedings should remain active despite the AIADMK general secretary's letter condoning the defiance of the whip.

Rejecting this argument, the bench ruled that disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution would not apply in this instance. The judges observed that the political party had condoned the conduct of the members, and the MLAs continue to represent the AIADMK.

The court also addressed the standing of the petitioner, ruling that advocate Selvakumar is a third party with no connection to the affairs of the AIADMK. The bench held that he did not possess the locus standi to interfere in the internal affairs of the political party.