AIADMK facing one legal hurdle after other since Jaya’s demise

CHENNAI: The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the party, which was at the helm of power in the state for majority of years, has been spending most of its days now in the courts.

Though the legal battles were not a new episode in the history of the Dravidian major and its leaders, the back-to-back litigations grabbing the court attention have turned out to be a new normal for its cadre in the last few years, certainly after the demise of party supremo J Jayalalithaa.

Justice G Jayachandran who heard the suit filed by O Panneerselvam challenging the general council meeting conducted by the Edappadi K Palaniswami on July 11, had reserved the orders. It is a nail-biting situation for the AIADMK cadre as they are unaware that either it is EPS or OPS to lead them in the upcoming days.

OPS was ousted in the same way like Sasikala say battery of lawyers engaged by Edappadi K Palaniswami.

The advocates, who represent EPS, had said that OPS was ousted in a way they did in the case of Sasikala in 2017, with the support of Panneerselvam.

Since OPS claimed that the General Council meeting held on July 11 is invalid as it was called against the bye-laws of AIADMK, senior advocate Narmatha Sampath who appeared for EPS submitted that the meeting was conducted on the basis of the requisition of the General Council members.

“The plaintiff cannot challenge the GC meeting now as the GC meeting held in September 2017 to elect him as the coordinator was held in the same way as the requisition came from GC members. The plaintiff cannot challenge the same act now for his convenience,” the senior counsel submitted.

1997 GC meeting of Su Thirunavukkarasar, its implications

It may be noted that the same kind of situation had come in 1997 when Su Thirunavukkarasar conducted a GC meeting with the requisition of 300 GC members.

Subsequent to his expulsion, Thirunavukkarasar held a GC meeting on his own.

However, a division bench of Justice S Patil and Justice Dhinakaran of Madras HC held that the GC meeting was void and unauthorised.

The first and foremost case after the death of Jayalalithaa was filed by OPS in 2017, against the election of Sasikala as the interim-general secretary of the AIADMK in 2016.

He had gone to the EC and Delhi High Court to nullify the decision of GC members electing Sasikala as the interim GS.

Ironically, the estranged AIADMK leader Sasikala is backing OPS now by the way going to an extent condemning EPS for sacking OPS and his son from the party.

KCP Palanisamy adds to legal hurdles

Meanwhile, former AIADMK MP KC Palanisamy who has also made legal fights before the Madras HC, Delhi HC and Supreme Court in connection with the AIADMK affairs said all the issues were started when the GC members started electing the General Secretary in 2017.

“In January 2017, I filed a case before Delhi HC against the election of Sasikala since it was an unusual thing against our party by-laws to elect the General Secretary with GC members. As per the bye-law devised by our leader MGR, the cadre had the right to elect their leader. Nevertheless, Sasikala defied it and subsequently, EPS and OPS scrapped it. The change made in the nomenclature of the party chief is the reason for all these infightings and chaos that prevail now,” he told DT Next.

Palanisamy also said that he got an order in favor of him from a division bench of Madras HC. He further stated that he filed another case before the Madras HC against the election of coordinators and joint coordinators in an Executive Committee meeting of AIADMK in December 2021. However, the court dismissed his case.

Sasikala too challenged the November 2017 decision of the Election Commission before Delhi HC allowing EPS and OPS to call themselves AIADMK coordinators. However, the Delhi HC dismissed her petition in February 2018.

Meanwhile, Ramkumar Adityan and Suren Palanisamy had filed another petition challenging the dual leadership of the party and the case is pending before the Madras HC.

“After I insisted that EC’s decision cannot have any legs to stand, EPS is pointing out that it is GC is the supreme body in the party and it did not give any ratification for the EC’s decision,” Palanisamy added.

When EPS was with the Sasikala faction, the DMK fought before the HC and Supreme Court to disqualify OPS and his 10 MLAs, who supported him during his Dharmayutham in 2017. The Supreme Court closed the case in February 2020 holding that it is up to the decision of the Speaker.

Recently, a city civil court dismissed Sasikala’s petition claiming right over the party and she made an appeal before the Madras HC against her ouster and creation of a coordinator and joint coordinator positions.

18 legislators disqualification

When 18 AIADMK MLAs were disqualified by the Speaker in 2017 for supporting the expelled AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran, they made a long legal battle before a division bench of HC, Supreme Court and a third judge. However, the court upheld the decision of the Speaker.

Apart from these cases related to the power struggle and right over the party, there are other criminal cases and cases filed by the federal agencies also pending since 2016. ED had recently summoned TTV Dhinakaran for his association in the case of bribing the EC officials to get the Two Leaves symbol.

The Kodanad controversy

The party leaders are also facing heat from the Kodanad heist and murder case as investigations are still undergoing. One of the accused in the Kodanad case had approached the HC to examine Sasikala, EPS, and OPS in the case. A division bench had also directed the government to surrender Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden residence to her legal heirs namely J Deepa and J Deepak in January.

Also, the cases filed by agencies against Sasikala, Dhinakaran, EPS, former minister SP Velumani and others in the AIADMK are also seized by various courts.