Can't Seal Political Party's Office: Supreme Court

Supreme Court's observation came as it dismissed a plea of by O Panneerselvam against a High Court order directing him to hand over the keys of party headquarters to party chief K Palaniswami.

In a democracy, a political party cannot be stopped from functioning by sealing its office, observed the Supreme Court on Monday as it dismissed the plea of ousted AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam (OPS) against the Madras High Court order directing him to hand over the keys of party headquarters to party chief K Palaniswami. "Allowing sealing of the office of a political party may be misused and have wide repercussions, which will not be appropriate in a democratic setup," the Supreme Court said.

A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli said, "We will not interfere with the order of the High Court. You (OPS) are expelled from the party. If we allow you to enter the party office, it would be a disaster. Overall, this order of the High Court has maintained the peace, and nothing untoward has happened for the past two months".

The Supreme Court said that its order will not come in the way of other proceedings pending in other judicial forums. It told senior advocate Ranjeet Kumar, appearing for OPS, "In democracy, a political party cannot be stopped from functioning by sealing its office. One should allow democracy to function. Your client (OPS) is expelled, now let the party function. You can avail of other legal remedies and file a suit to establish your right. If you succeed, then you have a valid point."

The Supreme Court was hearing a plea of OPS challenging an order of July 20 of the Madras High Court, which had set aside the proceedings of the Tamil Nadu Revenue department locking and sealing of the AIADMK headquarters, following the July 11 violence and directed that the keys of the office be handed over to party chief K Palaniswami.