The Madras High Court is expected to deliver its verdict on petitions challenging the disqualification of 18 AIADMK MLAs owing allegiance to side-lined party leader TTV Dhinakaran. The bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar, which had on January 23 last reserved its orders on the petitions by the 18 MLAs challenging their disqualification by the assembly speaker under the anti-defection law, is likely to pronounce its judgement. During the hearing of the petitions which commenced on November 16, senior counsels for the respondents including the speaker, the chief whip, and the chief minister, defended the disqualification of the MLAs. The crux of their argument was that the MLAs had approached the Governor with the intention to topple the government headed by Palaniswami and thereby attracted disqualification under the anti-defection law. Senior counsels Abhishek Singhvi and P S Raman appearing for the petitioners argued that the disqualification of the 18 MLAs was a premeditated ambush. The Speaker had passed the order based on irrelevant considerations, ignoring relevant considerations which was malice in law, Singhvi had contended. Earlier in April, the Madras High Court had dismissed a petition by DMK seeking disqualification of Panneerselvam and 10 other AIADMK MLAs for having voted against the Palaniswami government last year when they were in the rebel camp.