Justice G Jayachandran of the Madras High Court has recused himself from hearing a batch of civil suits related to the ongoing leadership dispute within the AIADMK, particularly between party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and expelled leader O Panneerselvam (OPS). The suits pertain to the general council meeting of the AIADMK held in 2022, where significant leadership changes and expulsions took place.The civil suits were filed by OPS and other expelled AIADMK leaders, including Vaithilingam, JCD Prabhakar, and Manoj Pandian, challenging the legitimacy of the general council meeting held on July 11, 2022. The batch of cases was initially listed before Justice G Jayachandran, who had earlier issued an interim order stating that the council meeting, which elected EPS as the general secretary and passed resolutions to expel OPS and others, had no legal effect. However, this order was later revoked by the Supreme Court.
Despite the Supreme Court’s intervention, which sent the original plea back for hearing, Justice Jayachandran has now recused himself from further involvement in the case. The judge directed the registry to place the matter before the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court for reassignment to a different bench.
The leadership battle within the AIADMK intensified after the July 2022 general council meeting in Chennai, where EPS was elected as the party’s general secretary. The meeting also passed resolutions expelling OPS and other senior leaders, including Vaithilingam, JCD Prabhakar, and Manoj Pandian, from the party. Aggrieved by this decision, OPS and general council member P Vairamuthu had moved petitions to challenge the council’s actions.
Earlier, Justice Jayachandran had ruled that the council meeting held on July 11, 2022, had no legal effect. However, EPS appealed to the Supreme Court, which later reversed the order, granting him a favorable verdict. With the recusal of Justice Jayachandran, the legal battle between the factions of the AIADMK is set to continue in the courts, as the leadership tussle between EPS and OPS remains unresolved.