Justice M. Sathyanarayanan of the Madras High Court on Thursday ruled that the disqualification of 18 'rebel' AIADMK MLAs in September 2017 by the Tamil Nadu speaker was a valid decision.
The verdict in the disqualification case of the 18 AIADMK MLAs will come as a shot in the arm for the government of Chief Minister E.K. Palaniswami and complicates prospects for ousted leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran.
Sathyanarayanan heard the case after a two-judge bench headed by then chief justice Indira Banerjee and M. Sundar gave a split verdict on June 14. Banerjee upheld the disqualification of the 18 AIADMK MLAs, while Sundar set aside the Tamil Nadu assembly speaker's order. Sathyanarayanan's name was recommended by the Supreme Court, which declined to hear a plea from the disqualified AIADMK MLAs.
The disqualification case, irrespective of verdict, is expected to have serious repercussions on the future of Tamil Nadu politics given the precarious numbers of the AIADMK and the opposition DMK in the assembly.
While the disqualification order against the AIADMK MLAs being upheld means the Palaniswami government will be 'safe' in the short term, it will only be perceived as temporary relief as bypolls will need to be held for all 18 seats as well as two others (on account of legislators dying in office) within six months. If the DMK or T.T.V. Dhinakaran's candidates win most of the 20 seats going to bypolls, the AIADMK government would be reduced to a minority.
