The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by MDMK leader Vaiko challenging a 2012 notification of the Union government that continued the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The LTTE was first banned in India following the 1991 assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Even after Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in May 2009, the Centre continued to issue notifications from time to time to keep the organisation banned.
A similar notification was issued in 2012, and Vaiko moved the High Court in 2013 to challenge it. He argued that the ban should be revoked, stating that the LTTE had fought for the rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Opposing the petition, the Union government submitted that Vaiko was not aggrieved by the notification as he was not a member of the LTTE, and therefore lacked locus to challenge the ban. It also argued that the plea did not survive because each subsequent notification was a fresh order rather than a mere extension.
