Court stays Bharati Raja's continuance as film body head

Chennai, Sep 30 (IANS) The city civil court Tuesday stayed the continuation of Bharati Raja as the president of Tamil Film Directors' Association and appointed two women advocates to conduct the affairs of the organisation.

The court while passing interim orders on a petition filed by director R.C. Shakti also ordered the appointment of director S.A. Chandrasekhar as the returning officer for the ensuing elections to be conducted within two months.

As per the court's ruling, advocates R. Vidya and Jaya Sudha will oversee the day-to-day functioning of the association and submit a report about the organisation's future within two months.

While Raja is generally viewed as a person close to the ruling DMK, Shakti is seen as the candidate of the opposition parties in Tamil Nadu.

The association is in turmoil over allegations of including outsiders in the rolls and the denial of fresh talents' entry into it.

A compromise formula to create a new group within the association a little over a month failed to solve the impasse, despite police protection leading to a plethora of charges from both sides.