Chennai, June 10 (IANS) A petition has been filed before the Madras High Court on Wednesday, challenging the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to accept the resignations of three AIADMK legislators, saying that the move undermines the anti-defection provisions enshrined in the Constitution.

Desiya Makkal Sakthi Katchi leader M.L. Ravi has approached the court seeking to declare as “illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional” the gazette notification issued by the state government accepting the resignations of AIADMK MLAs Maragatham Kumaravel, S. Jayakumar and P. Sathyabama.

The three legislators had resigned from the state Assembly before later joining the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).

In his petition, Ravi has also sought a direction to the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar to adjudicate and dispose of the pending disqualification petitions against the three legislators in accordance with law and the principles laid down by the Supreme Court.

The petitioner contended that the resignations were accepted despite disqualification proceedings being pending under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which deals with anti-defection provisions.

According to petitioner Ravi, allowing legislators to resign before a decision is taken on their disqualification petitions defeats the very objective of the Constitutional framework designed to curb political defections.

Ravi relied on the landmark Supreme Court judgment in the Kihoto Hollohan case, which upheld the validity of the Tenth Schedule and described it as a crucial Constitutional mechanism intended to preserve the integrity of Parliamentary democracy.

The judgment, he said, emphasised the need to prevent defections that erode public confidence in elected institutions.

The plea said that the Assembly Speaker, while exercising Constitutional powers, is expected to act in a manner that advances Constitutional objectives and safeguards democratic values.

By accepting the resignations without first deciding the disqualification petitions, the Speaker had effectively enabled the legislators to bypass the anti-defection law, the petitioner alleged.

The petition also said that such an approach renders the protections under the Tenth Schedule ineffective and creates a precedent that could encourage elected representatives to evade disqualification proceedings through resignation.

Describing the acceptance of the resignations as an arbitrary exercise of constitutional authority, Ravi urged the court to intervene and ensure that the Constitutional mandate governing defections is strictly enforced.

The matter is expected to come up for hearing before the Madras High Court on Friday.

–IANS

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