The Madras High Court has set aside the six-month jail sentences imposed on BJP Tamil Nadu Coordination Committee head H. Raja in two separate cases over his social media remarks concerning the demolition of a Periyar statue and comments against DMK MP Kanimozhi, as reported in News18 Tamil.
Raja had been convicted by a special court dealing with criminal cases against MPs and MLAs and sentenced to six months in prison in each case in December 2024.
The first case related to a post made by Raja on Twitter in March 2018, in which he said that Periyar statues would be removed in Tamil Nadu, drawing a comparison with the demolition of a Lenin statue in Tripura.
In April 2018, Raja made another controversial post on Twitter concerning DMK MP Kanimozhi. Complaints were subsequently filed by organisations, including the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam.
Based on the complaints, Erode police registered cases against Raja over the two posts.
The cases were later transferred for trial before the Chennai Special Court for cases involving MPs and MLAs. In December 2024, the court convicted Raja and sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment in each case.
Raja subsequently approached the Madras High Court seeking to have the convictions and sentences overturned.
Hearing the appeals, Justice V. Lakshminarayanan held that there was no evidence to establish that Raja’s social media posts had caused tension or unrest in society.
On that basis, the High Court set aside the convictions and the six-month prison sentences imposed in both cases.
The ruling effectively clears Raja of the sentences handed down by the special court in connection with the two 2018 social media posts.
Subscribe to our channels on WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and YouTube to get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
