Madras HC reserves verdict on maintainability of AIADMK leader’s defamation case against TN Speaker

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court reserved the final orders in the petition filed by Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M Appavu seeking to quash the defamation case filed against him by an AIADMK functionary.

Justice G Jayachandran reserved the final orders without mentioning any date over the maintainability of the original defamation petition moved by RM Babu Murugavel, AIADMK’s legal wing joint secretary.

Senior counsel P Wilson appeared for the Speaker and submitted that the defamation petitioner has no locus standi to file the case as he was not a party member (of AIADMK) when the alleged incident occurred in 2016, about which the Speaker made some remarks in 2023.

The counsel argued that the respondent was not aggrieved by the alleged defamatory statement and could not file the case. The general secretary of AIADMK is the legally authorised person to file a defamation case, that too by moving a party's resolution, he said. He referred to several judgments in this regard to support his contentions.

As the petitioner is not one of the 40 MLAs of AIADMK, about whom comments were made, Appavu’s counsel asked the court to dismiss the case citing a lack of locus standi. The judge rejected the argument placed by the Speaker’s counsel claiming that the case has been moved under CrPC now replaced with BNSS. If the cause of action is before the implementation of the new criminal laws, which is July 1, 2024, it has to be handled with old criminal laws, the judge said.

In a lighter vein, the judge asked the lawyer cum DMK member of Parliament his stand concerning defending his client citing the issue over the case being filed under the BNSS issue and his political stand over the implementation of new criminal laws. The senior counsel replied that they (new criminal laws) were passed in the Parliament by removing the Opposition members including him from the House, and said he is against their implementation.

R John Sathyan, senior counsel appearing for the respondent, submitted that since his client is the joint secretary of AIADMK legal wing, he has the responsibility to file the defamation case. The statement of the petitioner had damaged the reputation of AIADMK, hence the defamation case is maintainable, said the counsel.

Babu Murugavel filed the defamation case alleging that the Speaker, in November 2023, made a speech in an event stating that after the demise of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, more than 40 Assembly members of AIADMK were ready to join DMK. The petitioner said that the claim of the Speaker is fictitious with an intention to defame AIADMK.