CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by AIADMK organisation secretary, S Semmalai, to reject an appeal filed by expelled party general secretary VK Sasikala.
Justice S Sounthar passed the orders to dismiss the petition for want of merits. Semmalai had prayed the court to bin the appeal filed by Sasikala saying she had not paid the court fee as per the value of the suit.
Sasikala, a close aide of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, had moved the Madras High Court with the appeal against an order of the IV Additional City Civil Court Judge J Sridevi dismissing her petition challenging her removal as general secretary of AIADMK.
Sasikala’s petition was dismissed on the grounds that the court cannot interfere in the internal affairs of the party and the resolutions passed in the general council. She was removed from the party posts in 2017 paving the way for O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami to become the coordinator and joint coordinator of the party.
Meanwhile, former MP KC Palanisamy moved an appeal against a single judge’s order dismissing his petition challenging his removal from AIADMK in 2018. He claimed the judge had dismissed his petition citing time limitation, but ignored the fact that Supreme Court had relaxed the limitation due to the Covid pandemic. A division bench of Justices R Mahadevan and Mohammed Shaffiq condoned the delay and directed the Registry to list the petition as per the procedures.