Madras HC upholds resignation of six former AIADMK MLAs

The Madras High Court on Tuesday upheld the decision of Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar accepting the resignations of six AIADMK MLAs, who later joined the ruling TVK.

The first bench, comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan, in a petition filed by AIADMK whip Agri SS Krishnamurthy, challenging the Speaker’s decision, gave the ruling, upholding the decision of Prabhakar.

The bench directed the Speaker to decide on the petition from AIADMK whip Krishamurthy to Speaker Prabhakar seeking disqualification of MLAs S Jayakumar, Maragatham Kumaravel, P Sathyabama and Esakki Subaya within two months.

S Jayakumar, Maragatham Kumaravel and P Sathyabama, elected from Perundurai, Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies, resigned as Assembly members on May 25, 2026.

Esakki Subaya, elected from the Ambasamudram constituency, resigned the following day. C Vijayabhaskar (Viralimalai) and M R Vijayabhaskar (Karur) resigned as MLAs on June 16 and 29, respectively. All of them had been elected on AIADMK tickets in the April TN Assembly polls, and they later joined the ruling TVK-led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay. Maragatham Kumaravel and Sathyabama won bypolls — as TVK candidates — held on October 6 for the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly segments, respectively. The bench passed the order on the petition of Krishnamurthy, besides a Public Interest Litigation plea filed by Desiya Makkal Sakthi Katchi.

The bench said the resignations tendered by the MLAs were genuine and voluntary and in terms of the provisions under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. 

The Speaker was not required to undertake a roving or detailed inquiry into the alleged motives behind them. Accordingly, their acceptance and the consequential declaration of vacancies were constitutionally valid, the bench said.