Madras HC restrains Udhayanidhi Stalin from making defamatory statements against EPS

Chennai: The Madras High Court on Thursday restrained Tamil Nadu Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin from making defamatory allegations against former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS).

Justice R. Manjula of the Madras High Court granted interim injunction for a period of two weeks pursuant to a civil suit filed by Edappadi K. Palaniswami for damages of Rs 1.1 crore.

The AIADMK leader has petitioned that DMK youth wing leader Udhayanidhi Stalin was making derogatory statements in public platforms linking his name to the Kodanad murder cum heist case and also in case related to corruption charges.

The judge ordered a notice returnable within a fortnight to the minister.

Senior advocate Vijay Narayanan, representing EPS, prayed before the court that Udhayanidhi Stalin had on September 7 issued a written statement levelling the charges and shared on his social media account on 'X', and that has led to the filing of the present case.

The senior Counsel argued that the letter which was issued after his controversial speech on 'Sanatan Dharm', the minister who is also the son of Chief Minister M.K Stalin had charged that EPS was involved in the Kodanad murder cum heist case as also was facing a corruption charge.

Vijay Narayanan prayed before the court that his client, the plaintiff, has nothing to do with the Kodanad heist cum murder case and that he was not even once summoned by any agencies regarding the case. The senior counsel said that the minister had been making patently defamatory allegations that were damaging the reputation of the plaintiff who was a former Chief Minister and presently leader of opposition.

The counsel argued that there was no corruption charges pending against the AIADMK leader.

DMK leader R.S. Bharathi had lodged a complaint against EPS regarding corruption in highway tenders but no FIR was charged against him.

Vijay Narayanan argued in the court that the defamatory statements raised by the Minister against EPS was widely shared on social media platforms and reported in mainstream media also causing irreparable damage to his reputation as the former Chief Minister and leader of the opposition. The senior counsel argued that there was a necessity to grant an interim injunction.

He also said that permitting the minister to continue to make such allegations in an election year would end up causing great harm. The court was convinced of the submissions and the judge held that the balance of convenience was in favour of EPS, the plaintiff and hence the interim injunction must be granted.