CHENNAI: The First Bench of Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation challenging the appointment of O Panneerselvam as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
When the PIL filed by advocate Prabhakaran came up for hearing, the bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M Sathyanarayanan, observed that the petitioner has no locus standi to file the petition and dismissed it.
The petitioner contended that the Supreme Court’s order in Lilly Thomas Vs Union of India case was applicable only for disqualification of MPs and MLAs convicted in criminal cases, and not for ministerial posts like Chief Minister and Prime Minister. He also argued that a person could function as Chief Minister even without being an MLA for a period of six months.
Based on the averments, the petitioner sought an interim stay restraining O Panneerselvam as Chief Minister and reinstate J Jayalalithaa to that office.