Justice R. Mahadevan of the Madras High Court on Friday questioned why former Chief Minister and incumbent Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami should be exempted from coming to the court to adduce evidence in a defamation suit filed by him against journalist Mathew Samuel.
Presiding over the third Division Bench along with Justice Mohammed Shaffiq, the senior judge said, “everyone is common before the eyes of law,” and therefore he did not find any reasonable cause for appointing an advocate commissioner to record Mr. Palaniswami’s evidence at the latter’s residence.
When advocate S.R. Rajagopal, representing Mr. Palaniswami, said, his client’s presence in the High Court might cause inconvenience to other litigants, Justice Mahadevan said: “If this practice is permitted to continue, then others may also knock the doors of the court for appointment of advocate commissioners.”
However, since advocate S. Manuraj, representing the journalist, sought time for the appearance of senior counsel N.R. Elango to argue an appeal filed against a single judge’s order appointing an advocate commissioner, the Division Bench adjourned the matter for further hearing to December 15.
Mr. Palaniswami had filed the suit against the journalist in 2019 for having linked his name with the 2017 Kodanad heist-cum-murder case.
