A Division Bench of the Madras High Court too on Monday refused to injunct AIADMK factions led by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam from holding a joint general council meet on Tuesday.
Justices Rajiv Shakdher and Abdul Quddhose refused to interfere with the conclusion arrived at by Justice C.V. Karthikeyan who, this morning, refused to stay the meet on a case filed by Perambur MLA P. Vetrivel, owing allegiance to T.T.V. Dhinakaran.
Mr. Justice Karthikeyan had also imposed a cost of ₹1 lakh on the MLA after terming the suit as a vexatious litigation. The judge said that it has become a “condemnable” practice for the litigants to file civil suits by making men on their side as defendants so that the latter could “stab the other defendants on their back” at an opportune moment.
He also wondered how could the MLA have filed the suit against other MLAs and Ministers without bringing it to the notice of the Chief Justice in accordance with a circular issued by the court in March this year. The judge refused to buy the argument of the petitioner that the case had been filed in his individual capacity and not as an MLA.
‘An individual grievance’
If that was so, the judge said that the case projected by the petitioner before the court should be construed only as an individual grievance and not a collective grievance of a group of party cadre. If it was only an individual grievance, the petitioner could exercise one of the three options available to him.
The petitioner could either attend the general council by honouring the invitation extended to him or choose to have sumptuous lunch alone at the venue of the meeting to the envy of others, or alternatively, ignore the invite and sit at home, the judge suggested. He could certainly not be allowed to file a vexatious litigation, Mr. Justice Karthikeyan added.
In so far as the request made by the petitioner’s counsel to grant liberty to approach the Election Commission against the general council meet is concerned, the judge said that no one could prevent any person from approaching an appropriate forum to ventilate his grievances.
