NEW DELHI: In a significant order giving major relief to former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), the Supreme Court in its order on Friday stayed the criminal defamation proceedings initiated by ex-AIADMK leader and Member of Parliament (MP), KC Palanisamy (KCP) against him.The two-judge bench of the Top Court, headed by Justice BR Gavai and also comprising Justice Sandeep Mehta, passed the order after hearing an appeal filed by the aggrieved, EPS.It is to be noted that EPS had reportedly alleged KCP of ‘iillegally’ receiving money and distributed ‘fake’ membership cards, as a result of which KCP had filed and initiated a criminal defamation case against EPS.Former Attorney General (AG) of India, senior Supreme Court lawyer and noted legal expert, Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for EPS, questioned that where is the question of defamation, when he (KCP) was expelled from the party?Opposing the arguments of Rohatgi, senior lawyer and firmer Attorney General (AG) of India K K Venugopal, appearing for KCP, told the Apex Court that that is nobody’s case and he took the court through certain alleged defamatory content and tried toml make out a case against EPS.During the course of the hearing, the apex Court observed that if we go by the kind of allegations in the matter, then even the judicial proceedings are defamatory?”Leave granted. We direct an interim stay of (Madras High court) the order. Hearing to be expedited in the case,” the bench said, in its order on Friday and listed the matter for further hearing to November, without fixing any date.Justice G Jayachandran of the Madras High Court on November last year had reversed an order of a lower court, Metropolitan Magistrate (MM) court in Chennai, rejecting a defamation complaint filed by the former AIADMK MP, KCP against AIADMK general secretary EPS.
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