Sasikala's petition challenging sacking as AIADMK General Secy dismissed

Chennai, April 11: A Chennai court dismissed a petition filed by the AIADMK's former Interim General Secretary, V.K. Sasikala, challenging her removal from the post.

Additional Civil Court Judge J. Sreedevi dismissed the petition filed by Sasikala and allowed three petitions filed by the party coordinator, O. Panneerselvam, and joint coordinator, K. Palaniswami against her.

Sasikala had challenged the general council resolution removing her from the post of General Secretary. A close confidante of former Chief Minister, late J. Jayalalithaa, Sasikala had taken over the party after her death. Jayalalithaa passed away in December 2016 and Sasikala took over as interim General Secretary in February 2017.

However, things took a bad turn for Sasikala after the Supreme Court upheld her punishment in the disproportionate assets case.

After her imprisonment in the Bengaluru central prison, the party general council meeting passed a resolution expelling her from the party and made Panneerselvam the Coordinator and K. Palaniswami the Joint Coordinator after making amendments to the party bylaws.

Sasikala challenged this in a court, seeking that the general council resolution be quashed.

The lawyers representing the AIADMK argued that the resolutions were upheld by the Supreme Court and that the Election Commission had accepted them too.

Sasikala has been making frenetic efforts to come back into the AIADMK fold and has been in constant touch with the party rank and file across the state. However, the Palaniswami faction has been adamant that she not taken back to the party fold even as a section in the Panneerselvam faction was supportive of her coming back.