The Madras High Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing on MDMK general secretary Vaiko’s appeal against a tribunal order upholding the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The matter was postponed to February 16 after the Union government sought more time ahead of the next hearing.
A division bench of Justices Anita Sumanth and C. Kathir Kumar heard the case, and counsel for the Union government requested the adjournment, citing the need for the additional solicitor general to appear. The bench accepted the request and scheduled the next hearing for February 16.
India first banned the LTTE in 1991 following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and the prohibition has been periodically renewed. The latest extension came in 2024 and was upheld by a tribunal of the Delhi High Court, which agreed that the LTTE’s objectives fall within the scope of unlawful activities aimed at secession.
Vaiko has challenged the ban, arguing that the LTTE’s goal of a separate homeland was confined to Sri Lanka and did not threaten India’s territorial integrity (NewsWire)