Edappadi K Palaniswami is AIADMK boss again as Madras HC validates his election

CHENNAI: The see-saw legal tussle between the two former chief ministers and top rivals in the AIADMK - O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami - saw yet another twist on Friday, when a division bench of the Madras high court upheld the legality of the July 11 general council meeting and the election of Palaniswami as interim general secretary of the party.
The bench of Justice M Duraiswamy and Justice Sundar Mohan, by allowing the appeal of Palaniswami, in effect also upheld the validity of all the resolutions adopted at the July 11 meeting, including the expulsion of Panneerselvam and his supporters from the primary membership of the party.
The last word in the battle is, however, yet to be written as Panneerselvam said his lawyers plan to move the Supreme Court against the division bench verdict.
In its 127-page verdict on Friday, the bench faulted Panneerselvam for not having challenged the decision taken at the June 23 council meeting to convene a special general council meeting on July 11.
Indicating that the single judge had given more than Panneerselvam had prayed for, the judges said: "When Panneerselvam did not challenge the resolutions passed in the general council meeting held on June 23, an order of status quo ante as on June 23 cannot be granted."
This apart, joint coordinator Palaniswami, by his letter dated June 28 to the Election Commission of India (ECI), stated that his post along with that of coordinator had lapsed. Noting that certain functional deadlock had risen in the AIADMK, the judges said, "Palaniswami cannot be compelled to continue in the post," adding: "Panneerselvam alone cannot take any decision independently."
Asserting that the general council is the supreme body of the party, the court said, "when the majority of the members of the general council have given requisition for convening the special general council meeting on July 11 and also supported the resolutions on June 23 and July 11, the balance of convenience cannot be held in favour of Panneerselvam".
AIADMK will undergo irreparable hardship: HC
By giving a direction (by the single judge) that there shall be no executive council meeting or general council meeting without joint consent of the coordinator and the joint coordinator, a situation has arisen where the party, as a whole, will undergo irreparable hardship, since there is no possibility of EPS and OPS acting jointly to convene a meeting, much less a general council meeting to discuss single leadership, the judges said.
Clarifying that the court had not taken any stand on Palaniswami's view that the posts of coordinator and joint coordinator had lapsed for want of ratification on June 23, the bench said the issue could be decided in the pending suit.