The Madras High Court has reserved orders on an application preferred by AIADMK interim general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to restrain Jayaram Venkatesan of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) Arappor Iyakkam from holding press conferences or issuing statements against him until the disposal of a suit seeking damages of ₹1.1 crore.
Justice Krishnan Ramasamy deferred his verdict after hearing advocate S.R. Rajagopal, representing the former Chief Minister, who contended that the NGO had been levelling baseless allegations against his client just to gain cheap publicity. He argued that irreparable loss of reputation had been caused to his client because of linking his name with the alleged ₹692 crore tender irregularities in the Highways Department between 2019 and 2021.
