Madras High Court has granted interim stay on the expulsion of M Sekar and A Venugopal from the CPI and restrained state unit secretary R Mutharasan and council member D Pandian from interfering with their functioning as party members.
Sekhar and Venugopal were expelled from the party on April 17, 2015, for alleged anti-party activities.
Allowing the applications seeking to restrain Mutharasan and Pandian from interfering with their continuation as members and to stay the order of expulsion, Justice K. Ravichandrabaabu said "punishment of expulsion being a major punishment the same has to pass the test of principles of natural justice."
"Admittedly, when the said principle was not followed in this case, I am of the view that a strong prima facie case has been made out by the plaintiffs in so far as their challenge against expulsion was concerned."
Justice K. Ravichandrabaabu, who allowed the applications arising out of a civil suit filed by the two, said "whether the action of the plaintiffs is an anti-party activity or not, is to be considered and decided by the disciplinary authority only after receiving and considering their explanation and hearing them in person."
"They were expelled from the party without even issuing a show cause notice and calling for explanation. On the admitted position of facts, I find a strong prima facie case in favour of the applicants."
Originally, Sekar and Venugopal filed a suit challenging the election of Mutharasan as the state secretary and also to declare their expulsion as illegal. They also filed applications to restrain Mutharasan from functioning as party secretary and the other to restrain Mutharasan and Pandian from interfering with their functioning as members.
The judge, declining to pass orders on the application seeking to restrain Mutharasan from functioning as secretary, said the challenge made by the applicants as against the election of Mutharasan as state secretary was to be considered and decided only after conducting a trial of the suit by allowing the respective parties to adduce evidence in support of their respective pleadings.
"Therefore, question of preventing him from functioning as a state secretary in the meantime does not arise.
