Former Chief Minister and incumbent Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami has filed a suit for damages against Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin for having linked him with the 2017 Kodanad heist-cum-murder case besides accusing him of facing a corruption case.
Justice R.N. Manjula is expected to hear on Thursday the suit seeking damages of ₹1.1 crore for the allegations levelled in a statement issued by the Minister on September 7 after an outcry over his speech on Sanatana Dharma. The former Chief Minister has also sought an injunction restraining the Minister from levelling defamatory allegations in future.
In a plaint, filed through his counsel K. Gowtham Kumar, the plaintiff said Mr. Udhayanidhi was a new entrant into politics from former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s family and he was a film producer and actor before becoming a Member of the Legislative Assembly in 2021.
“Since December 2022, he has also been sworn in as a Minister. As the son of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and as a Minister, it is widely claimed that the defendant wields influence in the administration in the State,” the plaint read and accused him of being in the habit of levelling false accusations against the plaintiff.
The court was told the Minister’s September 7 statement titled ‘Let Social justice flourish forever’ had insinuated that Mr. Palaniswami was hoping to escape from the 2017 Kodanad heist-cum-murder case and also a corruption case though he had no connection whatsoever with any such case.
“The plaintiff here is not even remotely connected in any FIR or chargesheet nor has he ever been called for any investigation in respect of the Kodanad murder-cum-robbery case. Further, there are no corruption cases pending against the plaintiff. These false statements have been made knowing them to be false,” the plaint read.
ANOTHER SUIT
In the meantime, Justice Manjula on Tuesday granted leave for Mr. Palaniswami to file a similar suit for damages against S. Dhanapal, brother of an accused in the Kodanad case, for having reportedly indulged in character assassination. The leave had been obtained since the defendant resides outside the jurisdiction of the High Court.
