Supreme Court Dismisses Tamil Nadu Horse-Trading Probe

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking a CBI investigation into alleged horse-trading by the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, calling the allegations vague and unsupported by evidence.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana refused to entertain the writ petition from Madurai resident KK Ramesh. The court described the plea as based on "vague, wild, and casual allegations without any material." Advocate JR Sukin represented the petitioner.

The dismissal follows a similar ruling Tuesday by the Madras High Court. That bench, led by Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan, rejected a public interest litigation seeking a CBI probe into the same matter. The Madras court said the petition rested on "conjectures, suspicion and a total absence of foundational material facts."

The high court noted that a CBI investigation could be ordered only in exceptional cases supported by evidence. It called the PIL a "classic example of a fishing expedition." The court also clarified that political defections by four AIADMK MLAs, who resigned and joined TVK, do not amount to criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act in the absence of proof of an unlawful quid pro quo.

For the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, the twin dismissals reduce immediate legal risk tied to allegations of corruption or coercion. The courts' emphasis on evidentiary thresholds means a similar petition would need specific transactional details to advance. Absent that, the political stability around TVK's majority faces no near-term judicial challenge from this angle.

The Supreme Court did not set a timeline for any further proceedings on the matter. The petitioner's counsel declined to comment after the hearing.