Madras High Court seeks response from Edappadi Palaniswami on NGO's plea against interim gag order

The Madras High Court Thursday issued notice to former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami on a petition filed by NGO 'Arappor Iyakkam' challenging a single-judge gag order restraining the NGO from making any statements against the politician.

Justices R Mahadevan and Mohammed Shaffiq, however, refused to stay the single-judge order saying that stay would "amount to allowing the appeal itself without hearing the other side."

In December last year, a single-judge Justice Krishnan Ramasamy had granted an interim injunction in favour of Palaniswami in a defamation suit he had filed against Arappor Iyakkam. 

The single-judge had restrained the NGO from making any public statements or publishing anything that could be deemed defamatory against Palaniswami in the context of alleged irregularities committed in awarding tenders for laying of roads and highways.

Palaniswami had told the court that the NGO had falsely named him in the alleged ₹692 crore worth of illegal tenders awarded by the State Highways department between 2019 and 2021.

On Thursday, advocate D Nagasaila, who appeared for Arrappor Iyakkam, told the Court that the single-judge had gone beyond the scope of the defamation plea and passed a "blanket gag order," restraining the NGO from speaking or publishing anything related to Palaniswami.

She said that while Palaniswami had merely prayed for an interim injunction, the single-judge had gone on to make unwarranted observations on the probability of the former Chief inister having committed the alleged irregularities, and comments on the tender process, and a public figure's reputation etc.

The division bench agreed to hear the NGO and issued notice returnable within a week to Palaniswami.