Speaker assures decision on disqualification petitions against four former AIADMK MLAs within two months

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar on Friday welcomed the Madras High Court’s recent judgment upholding his decision of accepting the resignations of six AIADMK MLAs who later joined the ruling TVK. He assured to decide on the disqualification petitions pending against four of them within two months, as stipulated by the court.Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the first meeting of the Assembly Library Committee for 2026-27 in Chennai, the Speaker said “Had the judges asked during the proceedings what the Speaker or the Assembly Secretariat officials had done in this matter, we could have provided a detailed account of how systematically we examined the disqualification petitions. We could have explained the dates on which notices were issued, when replies were received, and when the first round of direct inquiry was conducted with both sides.”Mr. Prabhakar said most of the work relating to the inquiries into the disqualification petitions had been completed. “Only another round of direct inquiry remains. Since additional time was sought, we granted it. In the meantime, the by-election was announced. As those involved in the case were engaged in election work, we could not summon them for the inquiry during that period. Now that the election is over and the results have been declared, the inquiry will proceed,” he said, assuring that he would announce his decision well within two months. Published - October 16, 2026 08:46 pm IST