SC refuses to stay expulsion of O Panneerselvam, 3 others from AIADMK

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with a Madras High Court order that upheld the expulsion of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and three others from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in July 2022, The Indian Express reported.

At a meeting on July 11, the AIADMK had elected Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami as its interim general secretary – the top post of the party – and expelled Panneerselvam from the outfit’s primary membership for indulging in “anti-party activities”. The party also expelled three of Panneerselvam’s supporters – PH Manoj Pandian, R Vaithilingam and JCD Prabhakar

On August 17, Justice G Jayachandran of the High Court had ruled that the July 11 meeting was invalid. However, on September 2, a division bench of the High Court set aside the single judge’s order.