Chennai, Oct 7:
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam ministers Aadhav Arjuna and R Nirmalkumar have approached the Madras High Court challenging an order that permitted the DMK to institute a Rs 1 crore defamation suit against them and the party’s IT wing over statements made in connection with the R Veeramani POCSO case.
A Division Bench comprising Justice N Sathish Kumar and Justice GK Muthukumaar took up the matter and posted the case for further hearing on October 13.
The legal dispute stems from allegations and counter-allegations between the DMK and TVK over the handling of the case against granite businessman R Veeramani. The issue has become a major political flashpoint between the two parties.
DMK general secretary Duraimurugan had earlier approached the Madras High Court with a civil suit against the TVK over statements concerning the party’s alleged handling of the Veeramani case.
According to the DMK’s allegations, TVK ministers Aadhav Arjuna and R Nirmalkumar had, on September 21, accused the DMK of inaction in the case. The DMK also alleged that the TVK headquarters IT wing and the party’s official social media accounts on X, Instagram and Facebook had published, reposted and circulated the statements and related material.
The DMK claimed that the publications had caused injury to the reputation of the party and its functionaries and maintained that the statements were false, baseless and made without lawful justification.
The party sought damages of Rs 1,01,00,000, stating that the actual loss suffered as a result of the alleged defamatory publications could not be quantified.
The DMK also told the court that a complaint relating to the alleged offence had been received by the police on October 6, 2025, and that an FIR was registered the following day. The party maintained that the police had acted promptly and denied allegations that there had been delay or interference in dealing with the complaint.
The TVK ministers opposed the DMK’s request for permission to institute the civil defamation proceedings. Among their contentions was that the mandatory two-month notice under Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which is generally required before proceedings are instituted against a public officer, had not been issued.
Senior counsel appearing for the DMK, however, argued that such notice was not necessary in the circumstances because the proposed action concerned allegedly defamatory statements made by the ministers and not acts carried out by them in their official capacity.
After hearing the rival submissions, Justice K Govindarajan Thilakavadi had reserved orders on October 1. The court subsequently pronounced its order on October 5 and granted the DMK leave to institute the defamation proceedings.
The order has now been challenged by Aadhav Arjuna and Nirmalkumar before the Division Bench.
The development comes amid a wider legal and political battle surrounding the Veeramani case. The Madras High Court had earlier declined to transfer the investigation to the CBI, observing that the Special Investigation Team constituted by the State government should be given time to conduct its probe.
The SIT was constituted on September 25 to investigate the allegations. The High Court had said the team should be allowed to proceed with the investigation without interference. The case has also seen fresh complaints and an expansion of the investigation into allegations involving multiple survivors.
The latest petition by the two TVK ministers adds another legal dimension to the increasingly bitter political dispute between the DMK and the ruling party over the handling of the case. The Division Bench is expected to hear the matter further on October 13