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The Madras high court on Wednesday vacated a stay against the Election Commission probing the internal disputes of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, including the leadership and the subsequent party symbol issues, a ruling seen as a setback to its incumbent chief Edappadi K Palaniswami.
A division bench of Justices R Subramanian and G Arul Murugan passed the order on the petitions filed by expelled AIADMK members P Ravindranath (son of former CM O Panneerselvam), K C Palanisamy and Va Pugazhenthi.
The judges vacated the stay against the ECI probe into the leadership dispute (involving Palaniswami and Panneerselvam), pleas over allocation of the Two Leaves symbol and the July 2022 AIADMK general council resolutions that among others, expelled Panneerselvam and his supporters from the party.
The court dismissed Palaniswami's petition seeking a stay against the EC looking into issues such as the leadership tussle and the allocation of Two Leaves symbol to the AIADMK.
The bench further said EC should admit the pleas concerned only if satisfied whether they are fit for enquiry and directed the poll body to conduct the probe under the Election Symbols rules.
Responding to the verdict, Pugazhenthi said the court 'has vacated the stay', against the earlier order in the matter and that there was no bar on the EC holding a probe into the matter anymore.
With civil suits on leadership and symbol allocation pending before courts, Palaniswami cannot use the General Secretary post or the party name, he claimed, while talking to reporters.