1 week Ago
Chennai: Madras high court quashed a criminal defamation complaint filed by DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran against former chief minister and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami . Justice G K Ilanthiraiyan passed the order on Friday while allowing a plea moved by Palaniswami challenging the defamation complaint. During the last Lok Sabha election campaign, Palaniswami had alleged that Dayanidhi Maran as an MP, did not fully utilise the constituency development fund allotted to his constituency.
Aggrieved, Dayanidhi Maran filed a defamation case against Palaniswami. The complaint was admitted by the special court for cases involving MPs and MLAs in Chennai. Challenging the same, Palaniswami moved the present plea in the high court seeking to dismiss the defamation case.
He submitted that his statement was based on news published in newspapers and that statements made during election campaigns cannot be considered defamatory. Concurring with the submissions, Justice G K Ilanthiraiyan quashed the criminal defamation complaint pending against Palaniswami..
