Tamil Nadu government has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court order that quashed a police case registered against BJP IT cell national head Amit Malviya.
The FIR stemmed from a complaint by Dinakaran, organiser of the DMK lawyers’ wing in Trichy South district, over Malviya’s social media remarks linked to Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi’s speech on “eradicating Sanatana”. Police had registered a case based on the complaint.
Hearing Malviya’s petition, the High Court’s Madurai Bench set aside the case. In its order, Justice Sreemathi observed that the term “eradication” implies that a particular group should not exist and indirectly points to “genocide” or “cultural genocide”. The court held that Malviya’s post, which questioned the Deputy Chief Minister’s speech, did not amount to hate speech and was only a reaction to the speech.
The order also noted that the police reply carried a political slant and said officials should remain politically neutral, calling it condemnable to act in favour of any party.
In its Supreme Court appeal, the state has argued that the High Court order is not legally sustainable and that “Sanatana eradication” refers to social justice and equality. The petition is expected to come up for hearing soon.
