Chennai, Sep 15 The Madras High Court on Tuesday agreed to give DMK President M.K. Stalin more time to respond to a defamation petition filed by Tamil Nadu Minister Aadhav Arjuna over a social media post.

The case will next be heard on September 22.

On Tuesday, senior counsel P. Wilson, representing Stalin, informed Justice Govindarajan Thilakavadi that a counter-affidavit had to be filed and requested an adjournment.

The judge accepted the request and deferred the hearing.

The legal action concerns content allegedly shared by the DMK IT Wing after narcotics valued at Rs 258 crore were seized in Chennai and Ramanathapuram.

Arjuna accused the wing of attempting to associate him with the trafficking investigation. The minister said the post wrongly identified the alleged operator of the narcotics network as his close relative.

Denying any link with the accused, he described the claim as baseless and deliberately misleading.

The minister alleged that the material circulated online was fabricated and malicious and had been published as part of a deliberate campaign aimed at damaging his reputation and public standing. He said the post had caused him considerable personal distress and subjected him to unwarranted suspicion and criticism.

In his petition, Arjuna argued that Stalin, as President of the DMK, exercised overall control and supervision over the party’s organisational activities, including the functioning of its IT Wing, and consequently should be held responsible for the allegedly defamatory content published through the party’s social media platforms.

Arjuna has sought a direction to remove the disputed posts from all digital and social media platforms. He has also requested the court to order the respondents to publish an unconditional apology in both Tamil and English.

Apart from seeking a permanent injunction restraining the respondents from publishing or circulating similar allegations in the future, Arjuna has asked that the electronic devices allegedly used to create and upload the posts be surrendered.

The petition seeks Rs 1 crore in compensation for the damage to Arjuna’s reputation, personal injury and mental distress. He maintained that the publication adversely affected both his public image and personal life.

As Stalin is yet to submit his defence, the court did not consider the merits of the rival claims on Tuesday. Further proceedings are expected after the counter-affidavit is placed on record at the next hearing.