T.N. Speaker’s decision to accept resignation of MLAs challenged before Madras High Court

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.

First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.

Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.

Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers

Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there

The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.

Tamil Nadu Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu

A public interest litigation petition has been filed in the Madras High Court challenging Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar’s decision to accept the resignation of three MLAs pending a request to initiate disqualification proceedings against them.

Desiya Makkal Sakthi Katchi has filed the PIL petition urging the court to quash a gazette notification issued on May 25, 2026 accepting the resignations of Maragatham Kumaravel, S. Jayakumar and P. Sathyabama who had represented Madurantakam, Perundurai and Dharapuram constituencies respectively.

Filing an affidavit on behalf of the petitioner party, its president M.L. Ravi told the court that All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami had requested the Speaker to initiate disqualification proceedings against 25 of his party MLAs for reportedly violating the party whip and voting in favour of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government during the confidence motion moved in the House on May 13, 2026.

Even as the request was pending consideration of the Speaker, three out of the 25 MLAs submitted their resignation on May 25, 2026 and joined the TVK on the same day. The Speaker accepted their resignations immediately and notified the acceptance in the gazettee too forthwith.

Contending that the MLAs should not be allowed to escape from disqualification proceedings by submitting their resignations, Mr. Ravi said, acceptance of such resignations would make the anti-defection mechanism ineffective. He also relied upon a few Supreme Court decisions to buttress his contention.

“The acceptance of resignations during the pendency of disqualification proceedings has the effect of frustrating the constitutional purpose underlying the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution and permits elected representatives to circumvent constitutional scrutiny. Such an approach undermines democratic accountability and dil