Madras HC split on AIADMK MLAs' disqualification, Palaniswami govt safe

Last year, the 18 MLAs sparked a potential political crisis in Tamil Nadu, which has been seeing twists and turns since the December 2016 death of CM J Jayalalithaa

A two-judge bench of the Madras High Court delivered a split verdict on Thursday on the disqualification of 18 AIADMK lawmakers considered close to sidelined leader TTV Dhinakaran.

While Chief Justice Indira Banerjee upheld Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker’s disqualification order, Justice Sundar declared it invalid. Now, the opinion of another senior judge will be sought in the case. The court also said no by-election will be held till the case was decided.

The MLAs, who were disqualified on defection charges last September, had challenged in the court the move against them by Speaker P Dhanapal.    

Thursday’s developments mean