Madras HC extends stay order on floor test in TN Assembly

The Madras High Court on Wednesday extended stay order on floor test in the Tamil Nadu Assembly until further order.

The High Court directed no election notification to seats of 18 disqualified MLAs and no stay on the disqualification.

The hearing in the case has been adjourned till October 4.

"There will not be floor tests for next days until counters are filed," Aryama Sundaram, lawyer of Tamil Nadu Speaker, P. Dhanapal said.

The High Court was hearing the plea of 18 MLAs, supporting sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran, who were disqualified by Speaker Dhanapal for withdrawing their support to Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy.

The 18 disqualified MLAs had then filed a plea challenging their disqualification.

The Dinakaran faction had earlier met the officials from the Election Commission and requested them to declare the recently-conducted general council meeting of the party null and void.

Vijila Sathyananth, of the Dinakaran faction, told the media that the faction would soon hold a general council meet of the party after the consent of their general secretary - V.K. Sasikala.

The faction also moved the Madras High Court on plea over a floor test in the Tamil Nadu assembly.

The AIADMK, in its general council meeting, had passed a resolution, according to which jailed party general secretary V.K. Sasikala stood expelled from the party and the post of the temporary general secretary forfeited.

The resolution further said that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and his deputy, O. Panneerselvam, shall retrieve the party and its symbol.

Other terms of the resolution state that all announcements by T.T.V. Dinakaran stand cancelled.