Injunction order issued against Dhanabal from making comments against EPS in Kodanad case

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has granted an interim injunction against Dhanabal, brother of Kanagaraj (deceased), restraining him from making any comments against Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) connecting with Kodanad heist-cum-murder case.

It is quite natural that the statements of Dhanabal decimated in news channels and social media platforms would have caused mental agony to EPS, observed Justice R N Manjula while granting interim injunction.

Allowing Dhanabal to continue to make such statements would cause damage to the reputation of EPS, hence, this court restrained Dhanabal for two weeks from making any derogatory comments against EPS in connecting him with the Kodanad case, the judge observed.

The case was posted on October 10.

Senior counsel S R Rajagopal appeared for EPS and contended that Dhanabal had stated in 2017, after few months after the Kodanad heist incident, that there was no suspicion in his brother Kanagaraj's death, who is the prime accused in the Kodanad case.

In contrary to his previous statement, now Dhanabal making derogatory comments against EPS in news channels, connecting him with the Kodanad case without any proof, it is an unverified statement, the counsel submitted.

Further, the counsel contended that his unverified statements affected the reputation of EPS and sought an injunction to restrain Dhanabal from making any comments against the former.

The leader of the opposition party and AIADMK General Secretary EPS moved the Madras High Court seeking a gag order against Dhanabal to restrain him from making any remarks about the former in connection with the Kodanad heist cum murder case.

EPS also sought a libel of Rs.1.10 crore against Dhanabal, as the Parliamentary election is nearing his political rivals are pushing Dhanabal to make defamatory comments against him, connecting the Kodanad case, to defame the AIADMK party’s name among the voters.

EPS also claimed that it was an agenda-driven plan to defame him after his ascendence as general secretary of AIADMK.