S. GOPALAKRISHNAN Vs. CHIEF SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has a huge axe to grind against the fifth respondent and says that the fifth respondent's participation in government functions may be completely inappropriate.

(2.) The fifth respondent is the District Secretary of the ruling DMK party in Coimbatore. The affidavit accompanying the petition refers to the fifth respondent participating in programmes where relief material have been distributed to Covid victims.

(3.) Ordinarily, party functionaries have no role to play in government programmes. However, there cannot be any impediment to a party functionary being invited to a particular programme and a government functionary or official requesting the party functionary to share in the distribution of material. These are minor matters that are left to the discretion and the taste of the individuals concerned, where the issuance of a mandamus may neither be effective nor is desirable.