I cannot be held responsible for all social media posts by DMK handles, functionaries: Stalin tells Madras High Court

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M.K. Stalin on Tuesday (September 22, 2026) told the Madras High Court that he cannot be held responsible for each and every social media post published by different wings or functionaries of the party, just because he happens to be their leader.

He made the submission in a counter affidavit filed in response to a ₹1-crore defamation suit filed against him and the DMK Information Technology (IT) wing by Minister for Public Works and Sports Development Aadhav Arjuna, who had taken objection to an X post by the DMK IT wing.

“Though I am the head of the party and I exercise administrative control over the office-bearers of various wings of the party, I cannot be legally responsible or liable for any individual acts of the members or wings of the party,” the counter filed in response to the plea for interim relief read.

The former Chief Minister also categorically denied having given any instruction or approval to the DMK IT wing to post the alleged message that an individual named John Britto, booked by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in a drug-trafficking case, was the Minister’s relative.

Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi adjourned the hearing on the applications for interim relief to October 26, 2026, after advocate Richardson Wilson, representing the DMK president, told the court that the counter affidavit had been served upon the Minister’s counsel A.P. Suryaprakasam.

The judge was informed that the counter affidavit of the DMK IT Wing was also ready and that it would be served upon the plaintiff’s counsel by the end of the day. The counsel requested the court to list the matter for arguments after the court’s Dussehra vacation.

What Stalin said in counter affidavit

In his counter affidavit, Mr. Stalin said that the Minister had not denied the fact that he, in fact, had a relative by the name of John Britto, who was also facing an ED case. The court was told the Minister’s wife, mother-in-law, and father-in-law were also facing criminal cases registered by the ED.

Further, stating that the Minister himself was facing investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the Karur stampede tragedy, the DMK president said: “Therefore, the applicant’s claim that linking him to an accused person has ruined his reputation is bizarre when there are pending criminal cases against his immediate family members and one criminal case pending against him.”

He went on to state: “The applicant [Minister] has not distanced himself from the persons accused of various crimes in his own family, including his actual relative Mr. John Britto. Unless he does that, he cannot claim to be defamed for being linked to others accused of a different criminal activity.”

Therefore, even assuming, without admitting, that the DMK IT wing’s X post was a result of a mistaken identity, it still would not amount to tarnishing or lowering the Minister’s reputation or cause damage in any way because his actual relatives were also the subject matter of a criminal investigation by the ED, Mr. Stalin added.

The former Chief Minister further accused Mr. Arjuna of having used intemperate and abusive language against him and his family in the past and referred to a speech delivered by the Minister during a protest organised by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) near the Chennai Collectorate on March 12, 2026.

Mr. Stalin said, Mr. Arjuna had then described him as a “foolish Chief Minister,” which could not be considered as mere political criticism but only as a personal and derogatory attack.