Madras HC dismisses case against BJP leader Malviya

Chennai: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has quashed a criminal case filed by the Trichy City Crime Branch police against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national office-bearer Amit Malviya. The case was related to a social media post by Udhayanidhi Stalin commenting on Sanatana Dharma.

The case arose from a complaint by Advocate Dinakaran, District Organizer of the DMK Advocates’ Wing.

The complaint was filed at a Trichy police station alleging that a post shared by Amit Malviya on social media platform X threatened to disturb communal harmony.

The controversy relates to a speech delivered by Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin at the 2023 ‘Sanatan Abolition Conference’ organized by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association.

Addressing the gathering as a special guest, the minister distinguished between concepts that should only be opposed and those that, in his opinion, should be eradicated.

In his speech, Udhayanidhi Stalin stated that social evils should be treated like diseases like dengue, malaria, or the coronavirus, which, he said, should not only be opposed but also eradicated.

Using this example, he stated that Sanatana should be eradicated rather than merely opposed, and stated that the conference’s title was therefore appropriate.

A video clip of this speech was later shared by Amit Malviya on X. In his accompanying post, Malviya claimed that Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, had compared Sanatana to deadly diseases and, in effect, called for its eradication.

Malviya further alleged that such statements amounted to calling for genocide against India’s population. Based on the complaint, the Trichy City Crime Branch registered a case against Malviya under sections 153 and 153A of the Indian Penal Code, which deal with promoting enmity and acts prejudicial to maintenance of communal harmony.

Challenging the registration of the case, Amit Malviya approached the Madurai Bench of the High Court to quash it. After hearing arguments, Justice Srimathi accepted the petition and ordered the cancellation of the criminal proceedings initiated against Malviya, thereby quashing the case.