Removal of Sasikala as AIADMK general secretary upheld

A resolution passed by the AIADMK at a meeting of its general council in September 2017, which among other things, had removed V K Sasikala from the post of the party's general secretary, was upheld by a lower court here on Monday.

City Civil Court IV Additional Judge J Sridevi upheld the resolution, while dismissing an application from Sasikala challenging the same and allowing those from AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam and joint coordinator K Palaniswami.

The general council meeting of the two factions of the AIADMK in September, 2017 had removed the party's interim general secretary Sasikala from the post. It had declared the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa as the permanent general secretary of the party.

The powers of the general secretary had been handed over to a steering committee consisting of Panneerselvam and Palaniswami. It also cancelled the appointment of TTV Dhinakaran as the deputy general secretary of the party and all other appointments made by him.

Aggrieved, Sasikala, who had been elected general secretary in February 2017 post Jayalalithaa's death two months prior to that, and returned to Chennai from Bengaluru after serving four years jail term in connection with a disproportionate assets case, had in February, 2021, moved the lower court challenging her removal. Dhinakaran had also filed a similar application, but he withdrew the same, later.

Senior counsel S R Rajagopal and Vijay Narayan, representing the AIADMK coordinator and joint coordinator, respectively, pointed out that the Supreme Court had upheld the removal of Sasikala and Dinakaran from the party and the Election Commission of India had also upheld the allotment of the "Two Leaves" symbol to the party headed by the duo.