CHENNAI: The Madras High Court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on Tuesday on petitions challenging the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker’s decision to accept the resignations of six All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) legislators.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arulmurugan is set to hear the matter. The verdict, originally scheduled for October 9, was deferred after the Chief Justice proceeded on leave.
The petitions were filed by AIADMK Whip Agri Krishnamurthy and National People's Power Party leader Ravi, who have sought to quash the Speaker’s order accepting the resignations.
The six legislators whose resignations are under challenge are Maragatham Kumaravel, P. Sathyabama, Isakki Subbaiah, Jayakumar, M.R. Vijayabhaskar and C. Vijayabhaskar.
The petitioners alleged that the Speaker accepted the resignations hastily, without properly inquiring into the circumstances behind the legislators’ decision to step down. They have also raised concerns over the timing of the Speaker’s decision, arguing that disqualification proceedings against the six MLAs were pending when their resignations were accepted.
The disqualification proceedings stem from allegations that the legislators defied their party whip and cross-voted in support of Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government during a confidence motion.
The High Court’s verdict is expected to have significant implications for the legal dispute surrounding the six legislators’ resignations and the pending disqualification proceedings.
The court’s ruling will determine the outcome of the petitions challenging the Speaker’s decision.
