Published Oct 13, 2026 | 12:44 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 13, 2026 | 12:44 PM
The Madras High Court.
The Madras High Court has upheld the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker’s decision to accept the resignations of six AIADMK MLAs, dismissing a petition challenging the order. However, it has directed the Speaker to decide on the pending disqualification proceedings against the legislators within two months.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan passed the order on petitions filed by AIADMK whip Agri Krishnamurthy and National Makkal Sakthi Party president ML Ravi.
The court held that the Speaker’s decision to accept the resignations was legally valid and that the pendency of disqualification proceedings did not prevent their acceptance.
The six MLAs are Maragatham Kumaravel, Sathyabama, Isakki Subbaiah, Jayakumar, MR Vijayabhaskar and C Vijayabhaskar.
While dismissing Ravi’s petition, the court partly allowed Krishnamurthy’s petition, directing the Speaker to complete the disqualification proceedings within two months.
The disqualification plea alleged that the six MLAs had violated the party whip by voting in support of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government.
The MLAs, in their defence, argued that resigning from one party and joining another was part of the democratic process.
Two of the MLAs recently won by-elections as TVK candidates.
In Dharapuram, P Sathyabama defeated DMK’s S Suganya by a margin of 9,471 votes. Sathyabama secured 66,841 votes, while Suganya polled 57,370. AIADMK candidate K Bhanumathi finished third with 45,280 votes.
In Madurantakam, K Maragatham Kumaravel, contesting on a TVK ticket, secured 72,149 votes, defeating DMK candidate I Paranthamen, who polled 52,068 votes, by a margin of 20,081 votes. AIADMK candidate S Kanitha Sampath finished third with 42,370 votes.
TVK chief Vijay described the results as a “victory for democracy and political civility.”
(Inputs from Subash Chandra Bose. Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
