Supreme Court rejects plea to penalise six ex-AIADMK MLAs over resignations

The Supreme Court dismissed a challenge concerning six former AIADMK legislators who resigned and joined TVK. The ruling reinforces that resignation and disqualification remain separate constitutional processes.Image used for representational purposes onlyNewdelhi,Oct 26, 2026 14:02 ISTThe Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition against six AIADMK MLAs who resigned after voting against the party whip and later joined the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), news agency Press Trust of India reported.A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana rejected advocate K Suthan's challenge to a Madras High Court order dismissing his plea. "Somebody resigns and becomes minister, it's part of political process," the bench said.According to PTI, the High Court had on September 24 dismissed a public interest litigation seeking an "Election Expenditure Security" mechanism and the disqualification of the six former AIADMK legislators for five years.The High Court had observed that the right to resign from a legislative assembly seat was part of the constitutional framework and could not be subjected to conditions not provided under the law through a judicial order. The petition had sought directions to the Election Commission and the Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer to frame a mechanism requiring a sitting MLA who voluntarily resigns and later seeks to contest the resulting by-election to first deposit an amount equal to the public money spent on conducting the poll.In a separate order on October 13, the Madras High Court upheld Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar's decision to accept the resignations of the six AIADMK MLAs, who later joined the ruling TVK. The High Court also directed the Speaker to decide within two months a petition filed by AIADMK whip Krishamurthy seeking the disqualification of S Jayakumar, Maragatham Kumaravel, P Sathyabama and Esakki Subaya from the Assembly.Jayakumar, Kumaravel and Sathyabama, elected from Perundurai, Madurantakam and Dharapuram, respectively, resigned on May 25, 2026. Subaya, elected from Ambasamudram, resigned the following day. C Vijayabhaskar, elected from Viralimalai, and M R Vijayabhaskar, elected from Karur, resigned on June 16 and June 29, respectively.All six had been elected on AIADMK tickets in the April Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. After resigning, they joined the ruling TVK led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.Kumaravel and Sathyabama later won the October 6 by-elections from Madurantakam and Dharapuram, respectively, as TVK candidates.The High Court's order was passed on Krishnamurthy's petition and a public interest litigation filed by Desiya Makkal Sakthi Katchi. It held that the resignations were genuine, voluntary and in accordance with the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.The court said the Speaker was not required to conduct a wide-ranging or detailed inquiry into the alleged motives behind the resignations. It held that their acceptance and the resulting declaration of vacancies were constitutionally valid.The court noted that 25 MLAs had defied the AIADMK whip on May 13, after which the party immediately initiated disqualification proceedings before the Speaker. However, the petitions against 14 MLAs, including C Vijay Bhaskar and M R Vijay Bhaskar, were later withdrawn unconditionally.It said a pending disqualification petition did not constitutionally prevent the Speaker from accepting resignations because resignation and disqualification were separate constitutional processes. The Speaker was therefore competent to accept the resignations despite the pending petition.The court clarified that accepting the resignations did not make the pending disqualification proceedings irrelevant and that the Speaker must still decide the plea. It also said the High Court could intervene under Article 226 if the Speaker failed to decide the matter within a reasonable period."In the peculiar circumstances, a time-bound mandamus is being issued directing the speaker to conclude the disqualification proceedings finally within a period of two months," the Madras High Court had said.The Supreme Court has now declined to interfere with the High Court's dismissal of the plea seeking an election expenditure deposit mechanism and a five-year disqualification for the six former AIADMK MLAs.- Ends