Chennai, June 4: The Madras High Court will hear a petition on Thursday regarding the withdrawal of a case challenging the expulsion of several senior leaders from the AIADMK in 2022.
The case is listed for hearing before Justice N. Kumaresh Babu. The court was unable to consider this request on Wednesday due to procedural delays.
This dispute is linked to a leadership struggle that erupted within the AIADMK in 2022, leading to a split into two factions. One faction is led by Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS), while the other is headed by O. Panneerselvam (OPS).
Amid this ongoing tussle, a significant General Council meeting of the AIADMK was held on July 11, 2022. Prior to the meeting, O. Panneerselvam filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking to halt the meeting. However, the court denied the interim stay, allowing the meeting to proceed as scheduled.
During the General Council meeting, several resolutions were passed, resulting in major changes to the party’s leadership structure. A key resolution expelled O. Panneerselvam, Manoj Pandian, J.C.D. Prabhakar, and Vaithilingam from the party.
Subsequently, these four leaders challenged their expulsion by approaching the Madras High Court. Since then, this case has been pending alongside other matters related to the AIADMK leadership dispute.
However, subsequent political developments have altered the circumstances of this case. J.C.D. Prabhakar later joined the Tamilaga Vetrikazhagam (TVK) and was appointed as its Speaker. Meanwhile, O. Panneerselvam and some of his associates later joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
In light of these changed circumstances, J.C.D. Prabhakar and the other petitioners recently wrote to the High Court requesting permission to withdraw the case.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Justice Kumaresh Babu was informed that the letter regarding the petition withdrawal had not reached the court registry. As a result, the court could not make a decision on the request.
Considering the situation, the judge postponed the hearing until Thursday and directed that the case be re-listed.
The Madras High Court is now expected to consider the petitioners’ request to withdraw the case and issue an appropriate order.
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