HC declines to stay suspension of DMK leaders by Tamil Nadu Speaker

In a setback to the DMK, the Madras High Court declined on Monday to stay the suspension of 79 of its party MLAs from the state assembly.

In a setback to the DMK, the Madras High Court declined on Monday to stay the suspension of 79 of its party MLAs from the state assembly.

Opposition leader MK Stalin addresses the media during a protest outside the Tamil Nadu Assembly in Chennai. (PTI File Photo)

The first bench, comprising chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan, did not give any interim direction to authorities to allow the suspended MLAs to attend the ongoing session.

The bench, however, issued notice to Assembly speaker P Dhanapal.

When there was no one to take notice on his behalf, the bench allowed counsel for DMK treasurer and leader of Opposition in the state assembly MK Stalin and MLA Thiagarajan to serve private notice on him.

Notices were issued to the government and assembly secretary as well.The government pleader took the notices on their behalf.

On August 17, uproarious scenes were witnessed in the state assembly when DMK MLAs were evicted and suspended en masse by speaker P Dhanapal for a week for allegedly disrupting proceedings of the House.

Initially, 80 MLAs were suspended but later the suspension of one legislator was revoked as he was not present in the House during the ruckus, triggered by remarks of a ruling AIADMK MLA who allegedly ridiculed Stalin.