A division bench of the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) on Monday indicated that it wanted to dismiss at the admission stage a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking the drafting of a separate Constitution for Tamil Nadu. Concerned over the “divisive” nature of the petition filed by MDMK functionary A Baskara Sethupathy, the bench comprising Justices Chitra Venkataraman and S Vimala, observed that they were inclined to dismiss the PIL.
However, when the petitioner’s counsel Peter Ramesh Kumar contended that the intention of the plea was not to divide the country, Justice Chitra said she was inclined to transfer the case to the second bench of the court. Later, when the counsel sought an adjournment, the bench posted the case to June 5 for hearing. The petitioner contended that the Centre must commit itself to the position that an opportunity should be given to the people of the State to decide whether they will remain with the Republic or wish to have separate special autonomy.