T R Baalu and K Annamalai Withdraw Defamation Cases Against Each Other in Chennai Court

DMK treasurer T R Baalu and BJP state unit president K Annamalai withdrew their pending criminal defamation cases against each other at the XVII metropolitan magistrate court in Chennai on Tuesday. The mutual decision officially ends the legal dispute and mutual defamation cases between the two prominent political figures.

The legal conflict began after BJP leader K Annamalai released the "DMK files," which levelled corruption allegations against several leaders of the DMK. In response to these allegations, DMK treasurer T R Baalu initiated a criminal defamation complaint against the BJP state unit president.

On Tuesday, Baalu withdrew the case pending before the XVII metropolitan magistrate court. In a statement, Baalu's counsel noted that Annamalai’s counsel had earlier submitted to the court that the BJP leader wished to not press the complaint he had filed before the same court.

Accepting the submissions from both sides, the Magistrate permitted the withdrawal of both cases. The resolution comes after a trial period during which both Baalu and Annamalai had personally appeared before the city court several times.