The Indian Supreme Court (SC) stayed Friday a Madras High Court order restoring defamation proceedings against Edappadi K. Palaniswami, who is the General Secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Tamil Nadu state’s largest opposition party. Palaniswami was sued for defamation by fellow AIADMK member K. C. Palanisamy, whom Palaniswamy accused of misusing his party membership for personal gains.

The SC, in its short order, held, “Until further orders, there shall be stay of impugned order passed by the High Court.”

Palaniswami’s lawyer argued  that there was no case of defamation, enunciating that Palanisamy was expelled and Palaniswami even got a favorable award in the arbitration proceedings, a challenge to which was also rejected. On the other hand, Palanisamy’s counsel argued that statements made during even judicial proceedings could be defamatory.

The High Court (HC) passed its order in November 2023. As per the order, Palanisamy alleged that false and defamatory statements, including accusations of making a fake AIADMK website and collecting funds, were made in an affidavit during arbitration proceedings between Palanisamy and Palaniswami. Subsequently, Palanisamy sued Palaniswami for defamation under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. However, the judicial magistrate hearing the case dismissed the complaint, stating that the statements may be false but not defamatory.

Thereafter, Palanisamy reached the HC and argued that the statements were made with malicious intent to harm his reputation. The court, disagreeing with the magistrate’s reasoning, set aside the order and restored the complaint for further proceedings, stating that prima facie material existed to proceed with the case. Furthermore, the court rejected the argument that statements in the affidavit are protected under Section 42A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, which is related to confidentiality.

K. C. Palanisamy is an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu. He was associated with the AIADMK and played a significant role in the party founded by the late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. M G Ramachandran. However, he was expelled from AIADMK in 2018 for “anti-party activities.”