The Madras High Court on Friday rejected a plea by Coimbatore-based expelled AIADMK leader KC Palanisamy, who questioned the party holding its organisational polls on December 7. Justice Abdul Quddhose, before whom the civil suit and several applications with various prayers from Palanisamy came up for hearing today, wondered as to how a person who had been removed from the primary membership of the party could file a case to declare as illegal,a notification issued by the party. "How can the court intervene?" he asked.
The suit sought to declare the December 2 election notice issued by the AIADMK as illegal, unenforceable and non-est in the eyes of law. It also sought to quash another notification of February 2018, which removed him from the primary membership of the party.
The suit prayed for a permanent injunction restraining the AIADMK and its top leaders O Panneerselvam and K Palaniswami from in any manner conducting the election for the offices of the Co-ordinator and Joint Co-ordinator, the respective posts they hold.
In the event of the rejection of this prayer, a retired judge of the High Court might be appointed as an independent election officer to conduct the election, after declaring the electoral list and issuing a fresh election notification by providing 21 clear days as per the by-law of the party, the suit pleaded.
Senior advocates Vijay Narayan, Satish Parasaran and P H Arvind Pandian, representing the AIADMK and its two top leaders and others, vehemently opposed the civil suit. They contended that the petitioner, being expelled from the party, has no locus standi to maintain the suit. "No case appears to have been made out," the judge said. He, however, adjourned the matter till January 7 with a direction to the respondent parties to file their respective counter-affidavits.