The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to list next week a plea by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's ousted leader O. Panneerselvam challenging his expulsion from the party in a recently held General Council meeting.
"I am the co-ordinator of the party. I am the treasurer and a primary member. They are expelling me," senior advocate Guru Krishnakumar submitted during an oral mentioning for an early listing of the case before Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana.
The Supreme Court had earlier stayed a Madras High Court order restraining the AIADMK General Council from taking any decision on the party's leadership question. This had signalled the turning of the tide against Mr. Panneerselvam and in favour of his former party colleague Edappadi Palaniswami, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
The apex court's order on July 6 had come on the basis of a plea by Mr. Palaniswami, represented by advocate Balaji Srinivasan, that the "vexatious and prejudicial acts" of Mr. Panneerselvam had brought the AIADMK party's functioning to a "standstill". He had accused Mr. Panneerselvam of "disrupting" the General Council meeting on June 23 when the issue of single leadership was raised by the party cadre. He had accused Mr. Panneerselvam of initiating court proceedings "so that the meeting will not go ahead and the party cadre will not be able to express their intention".
Staying the "operation and effect" of the June 23 order of a Division Bench of the High Court, a Vacation Bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Krishna Murari had maintained that the courts should not dictate what should or should not be discussed in the General Council meeting of a political party.
The Bench had said the issues of "friendship", power, etc., within a party or association should be worked out invariably on the platform of the party and the judiciary cannot be seen to be interfering in the inner functioning of a party.
