Third judge named to hear pleas against MLAs' disqualification

Days after a division bench gave a split verdict, Justice S Vimala of the Madras High Court was today named as the third judge to hear afresh the petitions by 18 pro-Dhinkaran AIADMK MLAs challenging their disqualification.

Justice Huluvadi G Ramesh, the second senior most judge of the court, appointed Justice Vimala to hear the pleas when the matter was placed before him, court sources said.

Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar had given the split verdict on June 14 following which the former had ordered that the senior-most judge after her would decide the judge for hearing the matter afresh.

In a huge relief to the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu, the bench had delivered divergent verdicts on the petitions challenging the September 18 last year order of state assembly Speaker P Dhanapal disqualifying the MLAs under the anti-defection law.

The Chief Justice had upheld the Speaker's order while Justice Sundar set it aside.

The MLAs, loyal to sidelined leader T T V Dhinkaran, were disqualified for approaching the state Governor and seeking the removal of Chief Minister K Palaniswami in August last year.

In her 200-page order, the chief justice had upheld the Speaker's decision, saying "In my opinion, the view taken by the Speaker is a possible, if not plausible view, and I am unable to hold that the said decision is any way unreasonable, irrational or perverse."