In a significant development, the Supreme Court has granted relief to Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLA R. Seenivasa Sethupathi by staying the Madras High Court’s interim order that restrained him from participating in any floor test proceedings in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. The apex court’s decision came during a hearing of a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Sethupathi challenging the Madras High Court’s directive, which was termed as “atrocious” by the Supreme Court.
Questioning the validity of entertaining a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution in an election dispute, the Supreme Court expressed strong disapproval of the High Court’s actions. The bench led by Justice Vikram Nath criticized the High Court for allowing the writ petition while acknowledging that the appropriate remedy for such matters is an election petition.
Following arguments from both sides, the Supreme Court granted two weeks for the respondent’s counsel to file a reply and ordered a stay on the impugned order and further proceedings before the High Court. This development came after Sethupathi challenged the Madras High Court’s interim order that prohibited him from participating in any voting proceedings in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly until further notice.
The Madras High Court had issued the interim order while hearing a writ petition filed by former Tamil Nadu Minister and DMK leader K.R. Periakaruppan, who contested and lost the Tiruppattur Assembly seat by a mere one-vote margin. The controversy arose from alleged irregularities in the counting process, with Periakaruppan claiming that a postal ballot was mistakenly sent to the wrong constituency.
