Ok. Ponmudy. File
| Photograph Credit score: The Hindu
The Madras Excessive Court docket on Friday (June 13, 2025) ordered notices, returnable by June 25, to the Director Basic of Police/Head of Police Pressure in addition to Higher Chennai Commissioner of Police on a suo motu writ petition taken up by the court docket for registration of a felony case in opposition to former Minister Ok. Ponmudy of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for his derogatory speech in opposition to Saivites, Vaishnavites and girls basically.
Justice P. Velmurugan additionally directed the Excessive Court docket Registry to furnish to the 2 officers, the copies of an order handed by Justice N. Anand Venkatesh on April 23, 2025 for taking over the suo motu case. Pursuant to the order, the writ was numbered with the concurrence of Chief Justice Ok.R. Shriram and listed for listening to earlier than Justice Velmurugan since he holds the MP/MLA portfolio at current.
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Chief Minister M.Ok. Stalin had dropped Mr. Ponmudy from the Cupboard on April 27, 2025 pursuant to the speech delivered at a gathering organised by Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK) in Chennai on April 8, 2025. Justice Venkatesh had taken severe word of the difficulty on April 23, 2025 after video clips of the speech went viral on the social media and questioned how the police had not booked a case for hate speech.
In his April 23, 2025 order, the decide wrote: “These feedback, on the face of it, are utterly derogatory of girls and intentionally spew venom and hatred on the 2 important sects of Hinduism viz., Saivism and Vaishnavism.”
The decide went on to state: “As is probably recognized, Saivites venerate Lord Shiva because the supreme being whose focus is on reaching liberation (Moksha) from the cycle of struggling. Vaishnavites, however, are worshippers of Lord Vishnu in his varied avatars, and think about him because the supreme being amongst all Hindu deities. Saivism and Vaishnavism maintain a deep spiritual significance within the State of Tamil Nadu.”
“To many, the spiritual practices of those two sects type part of their creed,” the decide mentioned and noticed that the Minister, in his speech, ought to not have likened the Tiruman (three vertical traces sported by Vaishnavites on their brow) and Tripundra (the three horizontal traces sported by the Saivites on their brow) with the suggestive sexual postures by a intercourse employee.
“In Saivism, the horizontal traces on the brow is a sacred spiritual image depicting Lord Shiva’s three facets: creation, preservation and destruction. In Vaishnavism, the three traces are an emblem of a Vaishnavite’s devotion and dedication to the trail of righteousness (dharma) and non secular enlightenment… The out there clip performed within the court docket reveals the Minister has likened these sacred spiritual symbols with sexual positions,” the order learn.
Justice Venkatesh additionally mentioned: “Prime facie, it’s evident that the video demeaned the ethical value of intercourse employees, notably girls and was calculated to subvert the concord and peace of non secular teams and varied sects. Other than being obscene, the speech additionally undoubtedly wounds the spiritual emotions of Vaishnavites and Saivites and is geared toward insulting the Hindu faith and spiritual emotions of those spiritual teams.”
Additional, observing that the Minister had prima facie appeared to have delivered a hate speech, the decide mentioned, it will entice Sections 79, 196(1)(b), 296(a), 299 and 302 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) of 2023. He additionally highlighted the Supreme Court docket to have come down closely upon those that ship hate speeches and mentioned, the highest court docket had additionally directed the police to behave in opposition to such people. by registering felony circumstances.
“The Minister had admitted to creating these derogatory feedback and had, in actual fact, been faraway from the submit of Deputy Basic Secretary of DMK. Nonetheless, the police equipment which is tasked with the job of tackling hate speech lay immobile… The continued inaction and hesitation of the police in registering an FIR for hate speech in opposition to a Minister is most distressing and unlucky,” the order learn.
Justice Venkatesh had handed the order earlier than Mr. Ponmudy resigned from the Cupboard on April 27, 2025. Then, he had additionally directed the Registry to register a suo motu writ petition and place it earlier than the Chief Justice for acceptable instructions on the executive facet. For the reason that Excessive Court docket was on summer time trip for the whole month of Might, the petition was listed for admission on Friday (June 13, 2025).
Printed – June 13, 2025 01:08 pm IST
