11 hrs ago
Madras High Court to Rule on AIADMK Rebels’ Resignations
A court in Tamil Nadu is deciding whether the Assembly Speaker was right to accept the resignations of six lawmakers.
They had been accused of breaking their party’s rules by voting with the government.
Their old party says the Speaker should have finished examining those accusations first.
The Speaker’s side says it was enough to check that the resignations were genuine and voluntary.
The six lawmakers say they were allowed to resign and then join another party.
Two of them are running in local Assembly by-elections, whose results are due the same day as the court ruling.
The decision could affect who represents those areas and how many seats support the government.
Some details of what would happen if the court rejects the resignations remain disputed.
The Madras High Court is due to rule on an AIADMK plea challenging the Speaker’s acceptance of six rebel MLAs’ resignations.
The legislators resigned after facing disqualification proceedings for voting with the TVK government against the AIADMK whip, and later joined TVK.
AIADMK argues the Speaker should have addressed the pending disqualification petitions and verified that the resignations were genuinely voluntary.
The Speaker’s side says the required test was whether the resignations were voluntary and genuine; the former MLAs say resigning and later joining another party is permissible.
The ruling coincides with bypoll results in Madurantakam and Dharapuram, where two former MLAs are TVK candidates, potentially affecting the government’s Assembly strength.
- Who
- The Madras High Court, the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker, six former AIADMK MLAs, and AIADMK whip Agri Krishnamoorthy.
- What
- The court is considering a challenge to the Speaker’s acceptance of the six legislators’ resignations while disqualification petitions were pending.
- Where
- Tamil Nadu, India.
- When
- The ruling is expected Friday, the same day as the Madurantakam and Dharapuram bypoll results.
- Why
- AIADMK argues the disqualification petitions should have been handled first and that the Speaker did not adequately establish that the resignations were voluntary.
AIADMK petitioner’s arguments
Speaker’s side and former MLAs’ arguments
Whether resignations should have been accepted
AIADMK petitioner’s arguments
The Speaker should first have dealt with the pending disqualification petitions, and there was no meaningful inquiry into whether the resignations were genuinely voluntary.
Speaker’s side and former MLAs’ arguments
The constitutional requirement was to establish that the resignations were voluntary and genuine; inducement and political bargaining belong to the separate disqualification process.
Effect of resigning and joining TVK
AIADMK petitioner’s arguments
The petition points to the legislators joining TVK soon after resigning and raises allegations of horse-trading, which TVK denies.
Speaker’s side and former MLAs’ arguments
The former MLAs argue they could resign and later join another party, and that accepting their resignations does not automatically end the pending disqualification proceedings.
Possible effect on bypoll seats
AIADMK petitioner’s arguments
AIADMK legal wing secretary and MP Inbadurai says an invalid acceptance could create a situation with two claimants to a seat if a former MLA loses a bypoll and another candidate is declared elected.
Speaker’s side and former MLAs’ arguments
If the Speaker’s decision is upheld, the bypoll winners would become the representatives of the constituencies.
Key facts
- Legislators involved
- Maragatham Kumaravel, Sathyabhama, Isakki Subbaya, Jayakumar, MR Vijayabaskar and C Vijayabaskar
- Petitioner
- AIADMK whip and former minister Agri Krishnamoorthy
- Bypoll constituencies
- Madurantakam and Dharapuram
- Former MLAs contesting
- Maragatham Kumaravel and Sathyabhama are TVK candidates
- Dispute
- Whether the Speaker could accept the resignations before resolving the pending disqualification petitions
- TVK government
- TVK formed the government with support from Congress, VCK and IUML; CPI and CPM provided outside support
- Defection allegations
- Horse-trading allegations were raised; TVK denied them
Sources
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