Former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has filed a counter-affidavit in the Chennai High Court, seeking dismissal with costs of the lawsuit filed by Minister Aadhav Arjuna demanding Rs. 1 crore in damages for defamation.
Former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had posted on his X account that John Britto, who was involved in a drug smuggling incident, was a relative of Minister Aadhav Arjuna.
Pointing to a statement issued by the Enforcement Directorate, he had said that the truth had been exposed that John Britto, who acted as the mastermind in the Rs. 258 crore drug smuggling case, was a relative of Tamil Nadu Public Works Department Minister Aadhav Arjuna.
However, Minister Aadhav Arjuna had filed a case in the Chennai High Court against former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, seeking Rs. 1 crore in damages, stating that John Britto, whom the Enforcement Directorate had mentioned, was not his relative.
The Chennai High Court had ordered M.K. Stalin and the DMK Information Technology Wing (IT Wing) to respond in this case. When the case came up for hearing before Judges Govindarajan and Thilakavathi, the reply petition filed on behalf of M.K. Stalin stated that the Enforcement Directorate has a case against Aadhav Arjuna’s father-in-law, mother-in-law, and his mother-in-law’s brother.
Aadhav Arjuna is also facing a CBI case. In the nomination he filed for the Villivakkam constituency, Aadhav Arjuna stated that he had faced a CBI inquiry in connection with the deaths in the Karur crowd crush. But he concealed all of that and filed this case.
Since he did not approach the court with clean hands, he has no right to seek any relief. No approval or instruction was given to the IT wing to publish posts regarding drug smuggling or linking Minister Aadhav Arjuna’s relative John Britto.
The party cannot be held responsible, merely because he is the leader, for posts published on social media by various wings of the party. As the party leader, he may have administrative control over the office-bearers of the various teams, but he cannot be held legally responsible for the personal actions of the members of those teams.
In his petition, Aadhav Arjuna did not deny either that the minister has a relative named John Britto or that there is an Enforcement Directorate case against him. The allegations made by Minister Aadhav Arjuna that the posts were published with deliberate intent are baseless.
It is strange to claim that he was insulted, given that Aadhav Arjuna’s family members have been involved in various criminal cases. Since Aadhav Arjuna had already spoken critically about him in a personal manner, he cannot now seek damages for defamation.
No evidence has been submitted for the allegation that his reputation was tarnished. It was stated that this case is not fit for trial and should be dismissed with costs.
Following this, the request made by the DMK IT Wing for time to file a counter-affidavit in this case was accepted, and the hearing was adjourned to Oct. 26.
