DMK president MK Stalin has told the Madras High Court that merely heading a political party does not make him legally liable for every social media post published by its various wings or functionaries.
Stalin made the submission in a counter-affidavit opposing interim relief applications in a Rs 1 crore defamation suit filed by Tamil Nadu Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Aadhav Arjuna.
The suit arises from a DMK IT Wing post linking Arjuna to a person named John Britto, who was described as being involved in a Rs 258 crore narcotics case. Stalin contended that serving as DMK President does not automatically make him legally responsible for social media posts made by party wings or functionaries.
He said that although he exercises administrative control over office bearers of the party’s various wings, this does not translate into legal liability for their individual acts. Stalin denied having instructed, authorised or approved any post linking Arjuna or his family members to Britto or the alleged drug trafficking case.
The matter is pending before Justice K Govindarajan Thilakavadi. The High Court had earlier issued notice to Stalin and the DMK IT Wing. The hearing was adjourned to September 22 after Stalin sought time to file his counter.
The disputed post, which was subsequently deleted, described Britto as Arjuna’s relative. Arjuna has denied that the person named in the narcotics case is his relative and alleged that the DMK deliberately conflated him with his relative because they shared similar names.
Arjuna has sought Rs 1 crore in damages, an apology and injunctive relief against Stalin and the DMK IT Wing. In his counter, Stalin referred to Arjuna’s alleged acknowledgment that he had a relative named John Britto, who had approached the Greater Chennai Police claiming that he was not the person referred to in an Enforcement Directorate press release.
Stalin also relied on criminal cases allegedly involving Arjuna and some of his family members, arguing that material facts had not been disclosed to the Court.
He further referred to a March 2026 speech in which Arjuna allegedly called him a “foolish Chief Minister” twice, arguing that Arjuna’s own remarks were relevant to his claim of reputational injury.
Stalin has sought dismissal of the interim applications with exemplary costs. He also argued that prayers seeking removal of the disputed content and surrender of electronic records were premature, particularly since the post had already been deleted.
Invoking freedom of speech, Stalin contended that political parties must be permitted to criticise public figures and that restraining an opposition party from criticising a sitting minister could have a chilling effect on political speech.
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