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Activist Maridhas has moved the Madras High Court’s Madurai Bench after the Tamil Nadu police once again arrested YouTuber Maridhas, even though, days after the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court quashed an FIR against him. This time Maridhas was arrested over his old video-post on Islamic outfit Tabligi Jamaat.
The case is expected to be taken up by the High Court in the upcoming week.
The FIR, lodged at Tirunelveli district’s Melappalayam Police Station, charged Maridhas under Sections 292A, 295 A, 505 (2) and 67 of the IT Act. The FIR was filed by Kather Meeran, a politician in Tirunveli district, on 4th April 2020. Meeran approached the police over Maridhas's YouTube video-post titled, “Terrorism + Corona = India's New Problem/Tablighi Jamat.”
Meeran alleged that Maridhas depicted Muslims who participated in Tablighi Jamaat as terrorists and that their intention was to spread Covid-19.
Based on this complaint, the police arrested him.
Earlier, Justice GR Swaminathan of the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court had quashed an FIR registered against Maridhas, who was imprisoned over a tweet saying that, "Tamil Nadu is becoming into another Kashmir under DMK administration."
Upon the demise of Gen. Bipin Rawat, Maridhas called out the people who greeted the news and said whether Tamil Nadu under DMK rule was becoming another Kashmir. The District Coordinator of the IT Wing of DMK then lodged a complaint against Maridhas for various offences including sedition.
Justice Swaminathan had observed that “by no stretch of imagination can the petitioner be said to have harmed the national interests. The petitioner had only drawn the attention of the State government to certain nefarious tendencies brewing in the State.”
The Court further held that a 'Youtuber' or any social media personality regularly commenting on public affairs would be entitled to the very same rights which are accorded to journalists and the media under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
On the present arrest the Tirunelveli police will take him back from Chennai to Nellai (as Tirunelveli is also commonly referred to). The police will produce him in the Nellai district court later today.
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