Madras High Court backs speaker's acceptance of six AIADMK legislators' resignations

The Madras High Court rejected a petition filed by AIADMK whip Agri S Krishnamurthy and others that challenged the Tamil Nadu Assembly speaker’s decision to accept the resignations of six AIADMK legislators who had supported the ruling TVK government in a confidence vote. The bench, comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan, held that the resignations were genuine, voluntary and permissible under the Constitution’s Tenth Schedule, and that the speaker was not obliged to conduct a detailed inquiry into the legislators’ motives.

It clarified that resignation and disqualification are distinct constitutional processes, so accepting resignations does not invalidate ongoing disqualification proceedings, which the speaker must still adjudicate. The court also issued a mandamus directing the speaker to conclude the pending disqualification cases within two months. Petitioners claimed a constitutional duty to investigate before acceptance, while the speaker argued that refusing a voluntary resignation would breach his constitutional responsibilities.