The applicant in the instant case said his religious sentiments were hurt when Udhayanidhi Stalin called for eradicating the Sanatana Dharma.
The Supreme Court of India. (Wikimedia Commons)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 27 September, tagged with an earlier matter a petition by a Delhi-based lawyer seeking the registration of an FIR against DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and Members of Parliament (MPs) A Raja and Tholkappiyan Thirumavalavan for their remarks calling for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma.
Tagging the plea with the already pending matter, Justice Aniruddha Bose — heading a bench also comprising Justice Bela M Trivedi — however, did not issue a notice on the plea.
“We have not issued notice. Let it be tagged. We will see on that day,” the bench said.
The Additional Advocate General (AAG) of the Tamil Nadu government opposed the plea, saying these petitions were “publicity interest litigations”.
There are 40 writ petitions filed across the country in different high courts for publicity, and this was making things incredibly difficult for the state, the AAG told the bench.
“Everyone is filing PILs for publicity. They will go to the media and circulate these,” the bench said.
The Supreme Court on 22 September, on a petition by a Chennai-based lawyer, issued notice to Udhayanidhi Stalin and others.
The court sought their reply on the plea seeking action against them for their remarks calling for the eradication of the Sanatana Dharma. A notice was also issued to the Union home secretary.
In the latest case, an advocate named Vineet Jindal, in an application, sought the registration of an FIR against Udhayanidhi Stalin and Rajya Sabha member A Raja of the DMK for outraging religious feelings, insulting the followers of the Hindu religion, and instigating enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion.
The lawyer said he was a follower of Sanatana Dharma, and had seen the video recording of Udhayanidhi Stalin’s statement and news reports relating to the speech, delivered at an event called “Sanatana Abolition Conference”.
“The applicant being a Hindu and Sanatana Dharma follower, his religious sentiments are hurt by statements made by Udhayanidhi Stalin calling for eradicating Sanatana Dharma and further comparing Sanatana with mosquitoes, dengue, corona, and malaria. His words show his hate towards the Sanatana Dharma,” said Jindal’s application.
The application further said, “He is an MLA and a minister in the Tamil Nadu government, and has taken an oath to work as per the Constitution of our country and must respect all the regions, but he intentionally made a provocative and defamatory statement against the Sanatana Dharma with the intent to promote enmity between groups on the grounds of religion.”
Jindal has already lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police, calling for the registration of an FIR under Sections 153A & B, 295A, 298, and 505 of the IPC. However, the police have yet to register an FIR.
It may be noted that the Supreme Court, in its 28 April order, directed all states and Union Territories (UTs) to register suo motu FIRs in hate speech offences without any complaint being filed.
“Action be taken irrespective of the religion of the maker of the speech, so that the secular character of India as envisaged by the Preamble is preserved,” stated the application.
On 5 September, 262 eminent citizens — including former high court judges and bureaucrats — wrote to the Chief Justice of India, Justice DY Chandrachud, urging him to take note of Udhayanidhi Stalin’s hate speech calling for the eradication of the Sanatana Dharma.
They noted that the Supreme Court had directed the governments and the police authorities to take suo motu action in hate speech cases without waiting for the lodging of formal complaints.
Udhayanidhi recently blamed Sanatana Dharma for promoting division and discrimination among people and said that it should be eradicated.
At a conference on “Abolition of Sanatana” in Chennai on 2 September, organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association, Udhayanidhi said, “Few things cannot be opposed, they should be abolished.”
He added, “We can’t oppose dengue, mosquitoes, malaria or corona. We have to eradicate them. In the same way, we have to eradicate Sanatana, rather than oppose it.”
He also said that the word Sanatanam was derived from Sanskrit, that it was against equality and social justice, and that it had been a hindrance to society.
DMK MP A Raja later added fuel to the fire by describing Udhayanidhi’s comments as too mild and declaring the Sanatana was like HIV and leprosy.
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