The Indian Supreme Court (SC) recently stayed a Madras High Court order, previously restoring defamation proceedings against Edappadi K. Palaniswami, General Secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) – Tamil Nadu state’s largest opposition party. K. C. Palanisamy, a fellow AIAMDK member, had originally sued Palaniswami for defamation, claiming he had misused his party membership for personal gain.
Following the SC’s intervention, all proceedings are on hold until further orders. The SC stated, “Until further orders, there shall be stay of impugned order passed by the High Court.”
During the course of the lawsuit, the defence counsel for Palaniswami argued there was no case of defamation, as K. C. Palanisamy had been expelled from the party and a favorable award from arbitration proceedings was granted to Palaniswami, which was not challenged afterwards. K. C. Palanisamy’s counsel maintained that even statements made during judicial proceedings could be defamatory.
The Madras High Court had passed its order in November 2023. It restored the defamation case based on allegations from K. C. Palanisamy that Palaniswami had made false and defamatory statements during arbitration proceedings including accusations of creating a fraudulent AIADMK website and funds misappropriation. The allegations were made un the basis of defamation under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code.
Initially, the judicial magistrate dismissed the complaint, arguing that while the statements may be false, they were not defamatory. Following the dismissal, K. C. Palanisamy approached the High Court, claiming that the statements were made with a malicious intent to damage his reputation. The court disagreed with the magistrate’s decision and restored the defamation case, stating that there was prima facie material to proceed with the case.
The High Court also rejected arguments that statements made in the affidavit were protected under Section 42A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, which pertains to confidentiality.
K. C. Palanisamy, a notable politician from Tamil Nadu, played a significant role in AIADMK established by the late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. M G Ramachandran. Nevertheless, he was expelled from the party in 2018 for alleged “anti-party activities”.
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