⚖️ High Court Upholds Speaker’s Acceptance of Six MLAs’ Resignations

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The Madras High Court has upheld Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar’s decision to accept the resignations of six former AIADMK MLAs who later joined the TVK. A First Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan delivered the ruling on Tuesday, October 13, 2026 (Free Press Journal, UNI, The South First).

What the Court Held

• The resignations were genuine and voluntary and in line with the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution (Free Press Journal).
• The Speaker was not required to hold a roving or detailed inquiry into the members’ reasons; a limited inquiry into whether the resignations were genuine was enough (Free Press Journal, Open).
• Pending disqualification proceedings did not prevent the Speaker from accepting the resignations (The South First).
• The disqualification proceedings remain a separate process. “The Speaker can still finally adjudicate and decide the disqualification proceedings,” the bench said, and directed him to conclude them within two months (Free Press Journal).

The Petitions

The Speaker’s orders were challenged by AIADMK whip Agri S.S. Krishnamurthy and M.L. Ravi. Ravi’s petition was dismissed; Krishnamurthy’s was partly allowed only to the extent of fixing a timeline for the disqualification pleas (The South First). The pleas stem from the six members voting for Chief Minister Vijay’s confidence motion on May 13 despite the AIADMK whip.

The Six Members

The members argued that resigning from one party and seeking a fresh mandate is part of the democratic process (The South First). Two of them have already done so: Maragatham Kumaravel and Sathyabama won the October 6 by-elections as TVK candidates and took oath as MLAs on October 12.

What It Means

The ruling settles that the six seats were lawfully vacated, which backs the Speaker’s handling of the matter. By-elections to the four remaining seats, along with Tiruchirappalli East, are a separate question: they are on hold under an earlier High Court order linked to pending election cases. The Speaker must now decide the disqualification pleas within two months.

Sources: Free Press Journal; The South First; UNI; Open.

Madras High Court Speaker Assembly Tenth Schedule Day 157