The Supreme Court on Monday asked PMK founder S Ramadoss to approach the Madras High Court challenging the Chennai court’s March 26 refusal to direct the Election Commission of India (EC) to allot him the party symbol ‘mango’.
“The impugned order has been passed by the XIII Assistant City Civil Court, Chennai. We see no reason why the impugned order cannot be challenged in the Supreme Court through appropriate proceedings. The Supreme Court is requested to entertain the petition(s) due to the urgency shown by the parties,” a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant observed in a brief order.
Dr. Ramadoss is embroiled in a dispute over the use of the party symbol by his estranged son and party chairman Anbumani. He claimed that he assumed the position of party chairman after the end of the term of office of Dr. Anbumani in May 2025 and the subsequent decisions of party committees supported his leadership.
However, the defendants claimed that Dr. Anbumani remained the duly elected president whose term was extended by the General Council.
On March 23, the apex court prima facie agreed with the Madras High Court’s earlier decision rejecting his request for a direction to the EC to decide the party symbol dispute. The Supreme Court then urged Dr. Ramadoss to move the civil court.
Published – 07 April 2026 05:30 IST
