Madras high court denies interim relief to Tamil film producers council

Chennai: The Madras high court has declined to stay the operation of an order passed by the Deputy Registrar of Societies, who was appointed as special officer by the state government to look after the affairs of the Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC), constituting an ad hoc committee.

Justice S.Vaidyanathan declined to grant interim stay and posted to May 15, further hearing of a petition filed by Tamil Film Producers Council, challenging the order of the Special Officer dated May 8, 2019.

In his petition, S.Kathiresan, secretary, TFPC, submitted that the council has already challenged the appointment of the special officer and also sought a consequential relief to permit the duly elected office bearers and executive committee to perform its functions till the election of the new office bearers and executive committee and the matter is pending. When the very appointment of the special officer itself is under challenge, the said special officer has now formed an ad hoc committee consisting of 9 members, who are responsible for this entire situation, he added.

He alleged that except one person namely S. S. Durairaj, most of the persons were the very persons who have initiated the complaint against the council and who were responsible for illegally closing and locking the council and were named as accused in the complaints given to the police by the council. The appointment of ad hoc committee was totally unwarranted. Most of the persons in the ad hoc committee were the persons, who have contested in the previous elections and lost and now have been put in power illegally through back door method. The appointment of such ad hoc committees by removing democratically elected leaders in societies have been severely condemned by this court and the apex court, he added.

When the case came up for hearing on Friday, additional advocate general P.H.Arvindh Pandian submitted that the adhoc committee was constituted only for the purpose of assisting the special officer and nothing else.

Recording the same, the judge declined to grant any interim stay.