Chennai: Hearing on the case before the fourth additional city civil court, whose verdict is eagerly awaited by ousted AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala and also by the coterie of top party leaders, led by O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami, was adjourned to December 17 by the judge Sridevi on Thursday.
Recently, when former Minister B Valarmathi raised the issue of Sasikala flying the AIADMK flag on the bonnet of her car at a district secretaries meeting, the head honchos of the party Panneerselvam and Palaniswami said that all those things would stop once the verdict on the case came.
Both leaders were referring to the case being heard by judge Sridevi, in which both the top leaders had already filed their individual affidavits clearly stating that Sasikala had no locus standi to file the petition since she was not a member of the party.
Sasikala had moved the court in November 2017 stating that her dismissal from the party and the post of general secretary on September 12, 2017, by the party’s general council was not valid, her lawyer Raja Senthurpandian told Deccan Chronicle.
Since only the general secretary was empowered to convene the general council, the meeting called by Panneerselvam and Palaniswami was illegal, the petition has claimed, adding that according to the AIADMK Constitution only the primary members can elect the general secretary.
Panneerselvam and Palaniswami have claimed that since the late J Jayalalithaa was the permanent general secretary the post would not be filed up and instead the affairs of the party would be run by a Coordinator and a Co-coordinator, which Sasikala had contested in the court.
While they had no powers to convene the general council itself, that meeting had no right to select persons to the posts equivalent to the general secretary is her contention.
Perhaps it is to counter the argument that only primary members can elect the general secretary that Panneerselvam and Palaniswami had themselves elected by the primary members in the organizational polls.
Next, as Coordinator and Co-coordinator, directly elected by the primary members, they would together assume the role of general secretary and convene the general council to ratify all their decisions.
But as far as the case goes, arguments by Sasikala’s counsel that were to start on Thursday have to take place before the judge could take a decision on the validity of her removal and the assumption of the posts of Coordinator and Co-coordinator by Panneerselvam and Palaniswami.
That Sasikala is also banking on a favorable verdict in the case was indicated when she told her supporter to keep calm for some more time when Pannerselvam and Palaniswami went ahead with the process of holding elections with the hope that things would turn upside down once the court rules in her favor.
