Observing that BJP leader H. Raja has the “proclivity to make irresponsible and damaging comments” against people from different walks of life, the Madras High Court on Tuesday reminded him of a Tirukkural couplet on the need to guard one’s tongue to avoid facing misery in life.
Justice N. Anand Venkatesh refused to quash any of the 11 cases booked against Mr. Raja for having made disparaging remarks against Dravidian ideologue Thanthai Periyar, former Chief Minister Karunanidhi, DMK MP Kanimozhi, as well as officials of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department and their wives.
The judge said that the quash petitioner was a former MLA, now holding an important position in a national party. He has many followers who get influenced by his words, thoughts and deeds. Yet, he invited as many as three cases for a demeaning tweet against Periyar in 2018. “E.V. Ramaswamy, who came to be known as Periyar, is revered by the people of Tamil Nadu as the father of the Dravidian movement. He rebelled against gender and caste inequalities in Tamil Nadu and started the self-respect movement. Throughout his life, he was striving for a new rational society without caste, religion and god,” the judge wrote.
He further said: “Every other political party in the State trace their ideology to Periyar. He is virtually seen as a demi god, worshiped by Tamils who support rational thinking. It is true that a person is entitled to differ from the ideologies and thoughts of Periyar, but the question is how far should such an opinion be expressed.”
Making it clear that criticism of opposing ideologies should not cross the line of decency and become defamatory, besides having the propensity to incite violence, the judge held that the petitioner’s tweet had crossed the limits and it was prima facie capable of causing disturbance to public order. “The petitioner will be entitled to differ from the views, thoughts and ideologies of Periyar. However, he cannot cross the Lakshman Rekha and make a statement that directly affects the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu, who follow Periyarism. ...The petitioner has tweeted that all statues of Periyar must be broken similar to how the statue of Lenin was broken at Tripura. He has also addressed Periyar as a caste fanatic,” the judge said.
He ordered a joint trial of all three cases before a special court for cases against MPs and MLAs in Chennai and ordered completion of the trial within three months after framing of charges.
A similar order was passed in a case registered against Mr. Raja for his tweet in 2018, related to Karunanidhi and his daughter. “The tweet pertained to the late former Chief Minister, considered as an important driving force of the Dravidian movement. The people of Tamil Nadu carry a lot of respect for this leader [Karunanidhi] and any damaging message about him will have a negative impact in society and certainly create disturbance in the State,” the judge wrote.
Justice Venkatesh also took strong exception to a public speech delivered by the quash petitioner during Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations in 2018. The scandalous remarks made in the speech against HR&CE officials and their wives had led to registration of seven First Information Reports (FIRs) before different police stations across the State.
“A bare reading of the statement made by the petitioner shows that it is highly defamatory, scandalous and demeans women since he has thrown mud on the wives of the officials working in the HR&CE Department. On the face of it, it is condemnable and the petitioner cannot be allowed to get away with it,” the judge said. Pointing out that the petitioner was actually expressing anguish over the HR&CE officials having failed to protect temple lands, the judge said expression of such anguish should not result in making reprehensible and scandalous remarks against others, especially when the one making such remarks was a public figure.
He ordered a joint trial of all seven cases before a special court for MP/MLA cases in Srivilliputtur and ordered completion of trial within three months after framing of charges.
