HC issues orders to implead TN speaker on PIL

The Madras High Court here today ordered that the state assembly Speaker be impleaded as a respondent on a PIL seeking disqualification Chief Minister K Palaniswami and four other ministers for allegedly violating provisions of the Constitution.
Justices K K Sasidharan and G R Swaminathan of Madurai Bench had earlier asked the Speaker to file his counter on the PIL, but as he did not respond, they ordered him to be impleaded as a respondent.
They also ordered issuance of notice to the Election Commission and posted the case for hearing on September 6.
Petitioner T Anazhagan, a son of former AIADMK MLA Tamaraikani, submitted that the party's spokesperson, Gowri Shankar, had on February 22 in an interview to a private TV channel said the government would be run "on the advice and guidance of AIADMK General secretary Sasikala,", adding no minister had denied his statement.

Besides on February 28 four ministers -- Sellur K Raju, R Kamaraj, K A Sengottaiyan and G Srinivasan -- had admitted that they had met Sasikala in prison and had discussed the functioning of the government, he submitted.
"This open admission confirmed Gowrishankar's statement that the government was being run as per the advice of Sasikala. The action of the ministers and their statement that they were being guided by Sasikala, who is a convict, is against Article 188 of the Constitution (oath or affirmation by members) and violation of the oath of secrecy," he contended.

The Chief Minister also had not given any view against the statement of the ministers, nor had he denied it.

The petitioner sought the intervention of the court and an order disqualifying the chief minister and the ministers.
The petitioner also prayed for a direction to the speaker and secretary of the state assembly to do the same.