AIADMK issues defamation notice to TN minister Nirmal Kumar seeking Rs 1 crore in damages

The AIADMK has served a legal notice to Tamil Nadu Minister for Energy Resources and Law, CTR Nirmal Kumar, demanding a public apology, immediate retraction of statements, and Rs one crore in compensation for alleged defamation.

The legal action follows a press interaction held at the Secretariat on October 9, 2026, subsequent to the Dharapuram and Madurantakam by-election results.

According to the notice issued by counsel representing AIADMK through signatory and MLA Agri. SS Krishnamoorthy, the minister allegedly claimed that AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami had converted the party into a private “letter-pad company” to safeguard personal assets and family interests.

The remarks were subsequently circulated via print media, television broadcasts, and online platforms.

The party maintains that while robust political criticism and democratic debate are welcome, the statements falsely imputed wrongful appropriation and private diversion of institutional assets—including the Royapettah party headquarters—thereby damaging its five-decade-old public reputation, the notice said.

Under the terms of the notice, the Minister has been granted seven days to publicly retract the factual allegations, issue an apology through the same media channels, and settle the financial damages.

Failure to comply will prompt the AIADMK to pursue appropriate civil and criminal legal proceedings, the notice added.

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