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A few days ago, Stalin, a serving Minister in the Tamil Nadu State Government, while addressing a press conference in Chennai stated: “Few things cannot be opposed, they should be abolished. We can’t oppose dengue, mosquitoes, malaria, or corona, we have to eradicate them. In the same way, we have to eradicate the Sanatana (Sanatan Dharma), rather than opposing it”
The Supreme Court today refused to issue notice in a plea filed by Advocate Vineet Jindal, seeking registration of an FIR against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin's son Udhayanidhi and former Union Minister A Raja for their "derogatory remarks" and call for "eradication of Sanatan Dharma".
When the matter was taken up today, the counsel for State of Tamil Nadu referred to the plea as “publicity litigation”.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi was further told that such petitions were being filed across the country at various High Courts and it was difficult for the state to respond to them all.
Jindal's counsel submitted that a call for genocide was made, and the issue was serious.
"We will not issue notice in the petition but similar case has been filed so we will tag it..", Justice Trivedi went on to observe.
Last week, the Supreme Court had issued notice in a plea by a Madras High Court lawyer seeking action against Stalin for hate speech against Sanatana Dharma. While doing so, it refused to tag the case with the ongoing Haridwar hate speech petitions [Shaheen Abdulla Vs. UOI], while pointing out that the context of this case is different.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi asked the petitioner initially, to approach the high court instead but later said that notice be issued in the case. The bench also noted that the petition was effectively "converting the Supreme Court into a police station". One of the prayers in the plea is to register FIRs against Udhaynidhi Stalin, PK Sekar Babu & Peter Alphonse for their participation in the meeting titled “Sanatana Dharma Eradication conference” held on September 2, 2023. A direction has also been sought that the Director General of Police of the State of Tamil Nadu immediately Registers First Information Report against the organisers of the said conference.
Ten days back, a CJI DY Chandrachud led bench of the Supreme Court had refused to urgently hear a PIL filed against Stalin over his recent remarks made on 'Sanatan Dharma'. The CJI had refused to hear the plea filed by a Madras High Court lawyer saying that he had not come under the urgent mentioning list and he had to follow the Standard Operating Procedure circulated by the court.
On September 5, former judges, government officials and war veterans have written to the Chief Justice of India, requesting him to take suo moto cognizance of the hate speech made by Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on 'Sanatan Dharma', basis the order passed in the Shaheen Abdulla case. CJI Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud was told that Stalin Jr.'s comments could incite communal disharmony and sectarian violence.
An application was also filed in the Supreme Court seeking contempt action against Director General of Police of Tamil Nadu and Kerala for their "blatant disregard" to previous top court's orders and failing to lodge FIR in cases of hate speech, in light of recent remarks on Sanatana Dharma by ruling DMK leaders and Assembly speaker respectively.
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