In a significant development at the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, Justices GR Swaminathan and K Rajasekar on 28 July 2025 transferred the contempt-related proceedings involving advocate S Vanchinathan to the Chief Justice’s bench, while strongly reprimanding Tamil news channel Sun News for “absurd and false” reporting on the matter.
The case pertains to a pre-cognizance notice issued to advocate S. Vanchinathan, who was directed to clarify whether he stood by his public allegations of caste bias against Justice Swaminathan. Vanchinathan, who had made several such remarks on YouTube and social media, including a video titled “G.R. Swaminathan Jaadhi Paasam” broadcast on Arakalagam Channel, declined to provide a direct response in court, demanding instead that queries be issued in writing.
However, while transferring the matter to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of the Madras High Court for appropriate action, the Division Bench took serious exception to Sun News’ coverage of the case. In its telecast, Sun News reportedly claimed that the transfer order was issued in response to statements made by senior lawyers and retired judges, implying the court acted under public pressure.
Even in their social media post, it stated “In the face of strong opposition from retired judges and senior lawyers, Justice GR Swaminathan announced that he would send the details of the matter to the bench of Chief Justice Srivastava of the Chennai High Court.”
#BREAKING | வழக்கறிஞர் வாஞ்சிநாதன் வழக்கு தலைமை நீதிபதி அமர்வுக்கு மாற்றம்#SunNews | #Vanchinathan | #GRSwaminathan pic.twitter.com/UayO9EQYwS
— Sun News (@sunnewstamil) July 28, 2025
Terming the report “ridiculously false and absurd,” the bench clarified that their decision had no connection to the public statements issued over the weekend, including those by retired Judges D. Hariparanthaman and K. Chandru. “Our course of action cannot be governed by public statements,” the court noted in its official order.
The judges stressed that the decision to place the papers before the Chief Justice was grounded in procedural propriety and judicial norms, not media narratives or external influence. “We are aware of the procedural rules and our order will be in consonance with the same,” they stated, adding that the misleading reportage by Sun News deserved to be ignored “with the contempt which it deserves.”
The court further observed that Vanchinathan had previously been suspended by the Bar Council of India for professional misconduct and criticized his continued campaign against the judiciary through social media. The order cited past Supreme Court and Kerala High Court rulings affirming that baseless allegations of bias and scandalizing remarks against judges can constitute criminal contempt.
The final order directed the Registry to place the matter before the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, who will now decide the next course of action. The court made it clear that it had not yet initiated contempt proceedings but was compelled to act given the sustained and public nature of the allegations made by Vanchinathan.
உங்களுக்குத்தான் குணா @GunasekaranMu https://t.co/8sLj1Pm9YV pic.twitter.com/dTYyqTNiUx
— Savukku Shankar (@SavukkuOfficial) July 28, 2025
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