SC says asks CBI to probe Tamil Nadu trust on May 13 on ‘vague’ allegations

The Supreme Court on Friday (June 19, 2026) refused to entertain a petition alleging irregularities and “corruption” in the trust vote held in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on May 13, in which Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay secured a comfortable majority with the support of the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), VCK and IUMKAIAD and legislators MLA25 and AMLAAIAD.

The petition demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigate allegations that “compromises were made” and “huge sums of money distributed” to secure the support of rebel lawmakers. It also sought the imposition of President’s Rule in the state pending the completion of the investigation.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice V Mohan declined to entertain the plea, observing that the allegations were not supported by any credible record.

“…the petition is based on vague, wild and random allegations without any reliable material to substantiate the same. We see no reason to interfere,” the Bench said.

How Tamil Nadu separated religion and caste from politics

The petition, filed by Tamil Nadu resident KK Ramesh, alleged that the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and some rebel AIADMK legislators were involved in horse-trading ahead of the trust vote. It alleged that “huge amounts of money” and promises of government contracts were offered to former AIADMK MLAs who later voted for the C Joseph Vijay-led government, allegedly despite the party whip.

Advocate CR Jaya Sukin stated before the petitioner that several AIADMK legislators resigned from the assembly and subsequently joined the TVK, allegedly in violation of the anti-viewing law.

“In Tamil Nadu, rebel MLAs resigned, the Speaker accepted their resignation within minutes and they joined another party. The Speaker is supposed to examine the resignation letters, but nothing like that happened. The Speaker announced in front of the media that the resignation letters were accepted and within minutes they joined another party. This is sheer horse-trading,” he said.

“Serial PIL dispute”

However, the Chief Justice questioned the petitioner’s bona fides and observed that it appeared to be a “serial public interest litigation (PIL)”.

“You cannot be disappointed by the dismissal of one plea. How many PILs is he still filing? The petitioner is a serial PIL litigant,” he said.

The Bench also dismissed the petitioner’s plea for liberty to approach the High Court for equitable relief.

The petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution stated that the petitioner had been residing in Tamil Nadu for the past 25 years and that the alleged horse-trafficking had violated his fundamental rights.

Alleging that the events surrounding the trust vote were illegal and incompatible with democratic principles, the petition demanded dissolution of the assembly and a CBI probe into the allegations.

“The entire events were illegal and not part of a proper democratic movement. Therefore, the assembly should be dissolved and the matter should be handed over to the CBI for a full investigation. Until the CBI investigation is completed, the administration in Tamil Nadu should be subject to President’s rule,” the petition said.

On 13 May, the TVK government survived a trust vote in the Tamil Nadu Assembly with the support of 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs amid a DMK strike. Although the party itself did not get a majority in the 234-member House, it secured the support of the Congress, VCK, CPI, CPI(M) and IUML, enabling it to cross the halfway mark and retain power.

Subsequently, Tamil Nadu Speaker JCD Prabhakar announced that he had dropped further proceedings against 21 of the 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs who had voted in favor of the C. Joseph Vijay-led government during the confidence vote on 13 May. The decision came after AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami wrote to the Speaker in four separate letters condoning the behavior of the legislators despite voting against the party whip.

Published – 19 Jun 2026 12:13 IST