The Supreme Court on July 29 forwarded to the Madras High Court a plea filed by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam against his expulsion from All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in a recent general council meeting.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana asked the High Court to examine the issues raised by Mr. Panneerselvam in three weeks.
"We deem it necessary that instead of keeping the matter here, we will send back the matter to the High Court for fresh consideration without being influenced by the orders passed by us. We request the High Court to dispose of the matter within a period of three weeks,” the Bench ordered.
The Bench ordered the parties, including Edappadi K Palaniswami, who was elected as the interim general secretary of the AIADMK in its general council meeting held on July 11, to maintain status quo for now.
During the hearing, senior advocate Guru Krishnakumar, for Mr. Panneerselvam, said “extreme decisions” were taken in the general council meet.
“They have expelled me. They have removed me from the post of the treasurer and abolished the post," Mr. Krishnakumar submitted.
The Supreme Court had on July 6 stayed a Madras High Court order restraining the AIADMK General Council from taking any decision on the party's leadership question. This had signalled the turning of the tide against Mr. Panneerselvam and in favour of his former party colleague Mr. Palaniswami, also a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
Mr. Palaniswami, represented by advocate Balaji Srinivasan, had accused Mr. Panneerselvam of committing "vexatious and prejudicial acts" to bring the AIADMK party's functioning to a "standstill". He had accused Mr. Panneerselvam of initiating court proceedings "so that the meeting will not go ahead and the party cadre will not be able to express their intention"
