The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has quashed a criminal case against a law student who had posted on Facebook calling for the removal of a statue of E.V.R. Periyar near the Srirangam Temple.
As reported in Bar and Bench, Justice R. Vijayakumar held that the post did not amount to any criminal offence, noting that it was merely an expression of opinion and did not lead to any law and order issue.
“As per Facebook post of the petitioner, the petitioner has only expressed his views that such the said statue would affect the religious sentiments of Hindus. No untoward incidents has happened, pursuant to the said Face book post. The petitioner was studying law in Bangalore at the time of post. Now he has completed his studies and he is about to get enrolled. It is only an expression of opinion and cannot be considered to have promoted enmity between two groups,” the Court held.
The case originated from an FIR registered at Srirangam Police Station in 2023, where the petitioner, M. Barani Dharan, was booked under sections related to promoting enmity, intentional insult, and public mischief after allegedly posting that the Periyar statue near the temple should be broken and removed.
During the hearing, the Court had directed the petitioner to file an affidavit. In response, Dharan stated that the post was made unintentionally, that he had realised his mistake, and that he would not repeat such actions in the future. He also submitted that the pending case would adversely affect his legal career, as he had completed his law degree and was about to enrol as an advocate.
Taking note of the affidavit and the absence of any resultant unrest, the Court observed that the threshold for offences relating to promoting enmity had not been met. It further held that continuing the prosecution would serve no useful purpose.
Accordingly, the FIR in Crime No.2182 of 2023 was quashed. The petitioner was represented by advocate Aayiram K. Selvakumar, while the State was represented by Government Advocate (Criminal Side) B. Thanga Aravindh.
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