In a major relief to ADMK's Coordinator O Panneerselvam, the Madras High Court has on Thursday- March 17 allayed the trouble against him by dismissing the petition that challenged his electoral win in the 2021 assembly polls. 

Panneerselvam has won from his home turf, Bodinayakanur in the Theni district in the 2021 assembly polls. However, weeks after his victory, P Milani, a DMK functionary from Theni has approached the Madras High Court with her petition in which she challenged Panneerselvam's victory. While several ADMK leaders had lost the polls, this petition has disturbed the party's coordinator in the midst of a political crisis within the party. 

In her petition, Milani has alleged that Panneerselvam had declared false asset and income details in his election affidavit filed along with the nomination papers. However, the ADMK leader has claimed that the charge against him was completely wrong and he had divulged all the details in his affidavit. He had requested the court to reject the petition by claiming that the petitioner is wasting the time of the court. 

In his court affidavit, Panneerselvam said, "The election petitioner is wasting the time of the court. I had disclosed all my income and asset details. In fact, we had mentioned the purchase price and current market value of our properties. Therefore, the election petition is liable to be set aside." On the other hand, petitioner Milani's advocate argued that Panneerselvam has failed to declare the details of a bungalow that was registered in his wife's name. 

On recording the submissions and arguments, the Madras High Court bench comprised of Justice V Bharathidasan has on Thursday accepted Panneerselvam's affidavit and rejected the petition filed by Milani. By rejecting the petition, the High Court has mitigated the trouble against the ADMK leader.