The Supreme Court of India has set aside a Madras High Court order that prohibited the Tamil Nadu government from using Chief Minister MK Stalin's name in state government schemes. The ruling came on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, with the Supreme Court also imposing a fine of ₹10 lakh on the petitioner, AIADMK MP C Ve Shanmugam. The court directed that the fine be deposited with the Tamil Nadu government and used for the benefit of underprivileged individuals.

A bench led by Chief Justice BR Gavai strongly criticized the petition challenging the 'Ungaludan Stalin' (With You, Stalin) scheme, a public grievance redressal and outreach initiative. The Supreme Court observed that courts should not be used to fight political battles. The court called the writ petition filed before the Madras High Court "an abuse of process of law" and stated that it "reeks of political motive".

The Supreme Court noted that numerous state and central schemes across the country are named after political figures. It was mentioned that there are over 45 such schemes in Tamil Nadu alone. The court questioned the petitioner's intentions, asking why only one party or leader was being singled out. According to Live Law, the court stated that it does not appreciate the petitioner's anxiety in choosing only one political party and leader when such schemes are floated in the name of all leaders of political parties. The court added that if the petitioner was concerned about the misuse of political funds, they could have challenged all such schemes instead of singling out one political leader.

The Madras High Court's order, which has now been overturned, was passed on July 31 and had barred the use of names and photographs of living personalities, former Chief Ministers, party leaders, or political parties in government welfare schemes. The High Court's order had directed the DMK government not to use names and photographs of present and former chief ministers in welfare schemes. The Supreme Court clarified that its previous judgment allowed the publication of a photograph of the incumbent Chief Minister but that the use of photographs of ideological leaders or former Chief Ministers was prima facie against its directives.

The Supreme Court's decision has been seen as a significant relief for the Tamil Nadu government. The court emphasized that political disputes should be resolved by the voters, not in the courts. The court observed that singling out the Tamil Nadu government and its Chief Minister was unwarranted, given the existence of similar schemes in other states.