SC issues notice on plea seeking action against TN Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin
New Delhi, Sep 22: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice on a plea seeking directions for registration of an FIR against Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and the organisers of the “Sanatana Dharma Eradication Conference”.
A bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi sought response of Stalin Jr., Tamil Nadu Police and others on the plea, while declining to tag it with other hate speech matters pending before the top court.
At the outset of the hearing, the bench expressed its disinclination to entertain the writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution and asked why the petitioner should not approach the jurisdictional high court.
Senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the constitutional functionaries were speaking against an entire faith, adding that “children are asked and forced to speak against a particular faith.”
He claimed that in the present case, the state is spreading “hate speech” and there are circulars issued by the state government asking students to speak against a particular faith.
After hearing the submissions, the top court decided to examine the matter and issued notice. It orally remarked that the court is being converted into a police station and such cases should be dealt with by the high court.
Last week, the Supreme Court had declined to pass any orders directing urgent hearing of the plea and asked senior advocate Naidu to follow the procedure enumerated under the SoP providing for urgent listing of the matters.
The plea, filed through advocate G. Balaji, sought a declaration that participation of state ministers in the Sanatana Dharma Eradication
Conference held on September 2, was unconstitutional, being violative of Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India.
Further, it sought investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to inquire if there is any element of terror funding involved from across the border & outside India, especially Sri Lanka Tamil LTTE funds.
The petition also demanded that these conferences against any Hindu dharma should not take place in secondary schools of the state as per the judgment of the Supreme Court judgement in the hijab case.
Earlier, a similar application seeking initiation of legal action against Stalin Jr, who is son of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, over his controversial statements was filed by a Delhi-based advocate.
