Tamil Nadu
Madras HC judgement in OPS vs EPS case
A Madras High Court Division Bench of Justices R Mahadevan and Mohammed Shaffiq today (25 August) refused to intervene in the expulsion of O Panneerselvam (OPS) and his associates, R Vaithilingam, Paul Manoj Pandian and JCD Prabhakar, from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in July 2022 and the subsequent election of Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) as the party's general secretary.
While OPS and his associates were expelled through a special resolution, regular resolutions were passed to abolish the positions of Coordinator and Joint Coordinator and revive the position of General Secretary.
Justice Mahadevan also said that the Bench did not feel it necessary to interfere with the convening of the general council or the resolutions passed during the course of the meeting.
It said that it did not find any fault with the decision of the single-judge bench of Justice Kumaresh Babu who had refused to intervene in the expulsion of OPS and his associates through a special resolution in spite of prima facie finding a violation of the party's bylaws.
Justice Kumaresh Babu had then said that the balance of convenience was in favour of the party.
The verdict comes days after the completion of the AIADMK's state conference at Madurai on 20 August, which had further cemented Edappadi Palaniswami's position as the leader of the party.