Did the posts of Coordinator and Joint Coordinator of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) lapse on June 23 or not is the primary question around which a battery of senior counsel representing Edappadi K. Palaniswami and O. Panneerselvam advanced their arguments on Thursday before a Division Bench reserved its verdict on appeals preferred against a single judge’s August 17 order to maintain status quo ante in the party as on June 23.
Justices M. Duraiswamy and Sunder Mohan heard the day-long arguments advanced by senior counsel C.S. Vaidyanathan, C. Aryama Sundaram and Vijay Narayan for the appellant Mr. Palaniswami and senior counsel Guru Krishnakumar and P.H. Arvindh Pandian for Mr. Panneerselvam. Advocate A.K. Sriram, representing another litigant ‘Amman’ Vairamuthu, alias P. Vairamuthu, who supported the case of Mr. Panneerselvam, also argued the matter.
Justice G. Jayachandran on August 17 allowed the interim applications by Mr. Panneerselvam and Mr. Vairamuthu, and nullified the July 11 general council meet in which Mr. Palaniswami was elected interim general secretary of the party and Mr. Panneerselvam was expelled from primary membership. Assailing the order, Mr. Vaidyanathan said the notice for the July 11 meet was issued on June 23 and it was reported widely in the media.
