The Supreme Court has stayed a Madras High Court order that barred Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLA-elect Sreenivasa Sethupathi from participating in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. The apex court termed the high court's intervention in an election dispute as 'atrocious' and legally unsustainable.
A bench of justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and Vijay Bishnoi suspended the operation of the high court's interim order and stayed further proceedings before the high court. The court observed that the writ petition itself ought not to have been entertained in view of the constitutional scheme governing election disputes.
The controversy arose from a Madras HC order passed on Tuesday restraining Sethupathi from participating in the Assembly over a dispute concerning a postal ballot in the Tiruppattur constituency. The DMK walked out of the Assembly ahead of the confidence motion, with leader of opposition and DMK MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin announcing that the party would boycott the proceedings.
The Supreme Court's intervention came even as the floor test proceedings were underway in the Assembly. By the time the apex court passed its order and directed its immediate upload on the Supreme Court website, Chief Minister Vijay had already won the trust vote.
