The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to register a First Information Report (FIR) against State Minister for Forests K Ponmudi over his recent comments concerning Saivism, Vaishnavism, and women.
The direction came from Justice Anand Venkatesh, who made it clear that if the State failed to register the FIR, the court would take suo motu action against the Minister.
If they don't, then I'll initiate suo motu,the judge firmly told Advocate General PS Raman during the hearing on Thursday.
The issue came to light when the court was hearing a suo motu revision petition against the acquittal of Ponmudi in a disproportionate assets case. When the case was taken up post-lunch, the court asked the Advocate General to obtain instructions from the Director General of Police (DGP) about the criminal action, if any, that had been initiated against Ponmudi by the police following his controversial remarks. The judge also directed the Advocate General to come back with a reply before 4:45 PM.
When the hearing resumed in the evening, Justice Venkatesh expressed his dissatisfaction over the lack of clear answers. The court emphasized that only one FIR was necessary for the complaint received so far and advised the Advocate General to avoid registering multiple FIRs for the same offence.
The court further observed that the matter did not require any deep enquiry, as the person involved, Ponmudi, had already admitted to making the statement. The judge pointed out that the speech did not appear to be an off-the-cuff remark but seemed to have been made consciously.
The material is already available. The issue does not require enquiry because the person who made the comment is accepting the comment. The damaging content is still there. It cannot just go on and on. We don't know when it'll flare up. This is a cognisance taken by the court. The moment I enter into this, it'll get a different colour, which I don't want to happen, Justice Venkatesh said.
The court also underlined the need to send a strong message to prevent such statements in the future, especially by individuals holding public office.
"Someone should hesitate in the future. People shouldn't think that when I belong to some other party or some other opposition party, I will be held. But if I belong to the ruling party, I can talk anything. That impression should never be given. Law is for everybody,"
Justice Venkatesh further noted that the same seriousness shown by the government in cases of hate speech against ordinary citizens must apply when a member of the ruling party makes similar statements.
When the government takes seriously about the hate speech made by others, the same should be done when a person who is part of the government makes it. And it's not some ordinary thing which he has uttered. We've all heard it,"the court observed.
The Madras High Court has granted the State government time until April 23 to report back on whether an FIR has been filed against Ponmudi.
Meanwhile, a separate plea has also been filed before the Madras High Court, seeking the removal and disqualification of Ponmudi from his ministerial post over his remarks. The petition argues that, as a constitutional authority, Ponmudi is bound by constitutional values and principles and should conduct himself responsibly in public. The petitioner also stressed that the Constitution does not allow hate speech under the pretext of secularism or freedom of speech. The High Court is yet to hear this plea.
