EPS v OPS: In special Sunday hearing, Madras High Court refuses to stay AIADMK General Secretary elections

The Madras High Court held a special hearing on Sunday to sort out the tussle between former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and O Paneerselvam (OPS) of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)..At the end of the hearing, EPS and the AIADMK General Council gave an undertaking to the Court that they will not declare the results of the elections for the party's General Secretary until March 24. .Senior Advocates CS Vaidyanathan and Vijay Narayan, who appeared for EPS and the General Council respectively, gave such undertaking to Justice K Kumaresh Babu after he agreed to hear all interim applications in the matter on March 22 and pass orders by March 24..Justice Babu presided over a special Sunday hearing after three expelled members of the AIADMK belonging to the OPS camp - Manoj Pandian, R Vaithilingam, and JCD Prabhakar - moved the Court seeking an urgent hearing to stay the General Secretary elections called for by the party on March 26..On March 17, the High Court had adjourned to April 11 the hearing on another application filed by the trio challenging their expulsion, the resolutions passed at the party's General Council meeting on July 11 last year and an interim prayer to restrain the party from calling for General Secretary elections. However, on Friday evening, the party called for nominations from those interested in contesting for the post of General Secretary. On Saturday, EPS filed his nomination papers. The petitioners then approached the High Court seeking an urgent hearing. The nominations closed at 3 pm on Sunday, and till then, the party had received only one nomination, that of EPS..Senior Counsel PS Raman, who appeared for Pandian, questioned why the party rushed to conduct the elections when the matter was sub judice and said that the same was an abuse of the process of law. Pressing for interim relief, he urged the Court to stay the March 26 elections. EPS and AIADMK, however, said that the Court cannot interfere in the internal matters of the party. They further said that the process leading to the polling had already begun and must be completed now as per procedure. Moreover, the results of the election will anyway be subject to the final orders of the Court. Therefore, there was no scope for staying the elections, they claimed..Justice Babu, however, asked what was the rush to declare the elections when the issue was sub judice. He then asked if the declaration of results could be delayed."I am not going to stay the election. But I am asking you to not declare results until the next hearing," the Court said. When counsel for the party expressed reluctance at the suggestion, the Court asked if they could at least ensure that the candidate who was elected as General Secretary did not assume office for a week. In the meanwhile, the Court said it could hear all the related pending applications on the issue and pass orders. It was then that Senior Advocates Vaidyanathan and Narayan gave an undertaking that the election results will not be declared until March 24.