India
Supreme Court Upholds Speaker’s Decision to Drop AIADMK Lawmakers’ Disqualification
The Supreme Court rejected a plea to overturn the Tamil Nadu assembly Speaker’s decision to drop disqualification proceedings against a group of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) lawmakers who supported C Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government in a May trust vote. The bench, comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana, dismissed the petition filed by lawyer PV Selvakumar, who claimed to be an AIADMK member. Selvakumar had approached the Supreme Court after the Madras High Court dismissed his challenge to the Speaker’s June 9 ruling, which was based on a letter from the AIADMK general secretary dated May 27. The court noted that the AIADMK had condoned the lawmakers’ actions and that a challenge could not be maintained on behalf of an “interloper.” It emphasized the need to preserve the constitutional sanctity of the Tenth Schedule (anti‑defection law) while acknowledging that a multi‑party system allows differing views within a party. The bench stated that the lawmakers had not lost their identity and remained AIADMK members. The High Court, on August 18, had earlier ruled that once the AIADMK general secretary submitted a letter on July 25 condoning the lawmakers’ actions, the question of disqualification ceased to arise, and the Speaker correctly dropped the proceedings. The TVK, which holds 108 seats, won the trust vote in the 234‑member assembly with the support of 144 lawmakers in May.}