NEW DELHI: The
Madras high court
on Wednesday
dismissed
a
plea
against Tamil Nadu minister
Udhayanidhi Stalin
over his
remark
against Sanatana Dharma while observing that “making
unverified claims
on Sanatana Dharma tantamounts to spreading misinformation”.
Justice Anita Sumanth also refrained from issuing quo warranto against ministers PK Sekar Babu and DMK MP A
Raja
over the remarks on Sanatana Dharma.
The court pulled up charitable endowments minister Sekar Babu for participating in a meeting for eradication of Sanatana Dharma.
“Those holding constitutional positions can propound only one principle. And that is the principle of constitutionalism. Making unverified claims on Sanatana Dharma tantamount to spreading misinformation,” the bench observed before disposing of the plea according to Bar & Bench.
Equating Sanatana Dharma to HIV, malaria, and dengue, Udhayanidhi Stalin acted against Constitutional principles, the court said.
“The prayer to issue quo warranto by a team belonging to Hindu Munnani has been rejected. The Court said that the quo warranto cannot be granted. Udhayanidhi Stalin has succeeded in this writ petition,” said advocate P Wilson after the hearing.
This comes days after the Supreme Court criticised Udhayanidhi Stalin for his ‘eradicating Sanatana Dharma’ remarks. It asked the DMK leader why he approached the top court after abusing his right to freedom of speech.
The bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta also reminded Stalin that as a minister, he should be aware of the consequences of his remarks.
“You abuse your right under Article 19(1)(a) (of the Constitution). You abuse your right under Article 25. Now you are exercising your right under Article 32 (to file plea in the Supreme Court)? Do you not know the consequences of what you said? You are not a layman. You are a minister. You should know the consequences,” the apex court had said before adjourning the matter to March 15.
The Supreme Court bench was hearing a petition filed by Udhayanidhi seeking to club the FIRs registered in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka over his controversial remarks.
Udhayanidhi, the son of Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, made the controversial statement during a conference in September 2023. Stalin Junior, during a meeting of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Forum last year, asserted that “Sanatana Dharma has to be eradicated just like mosquitoes, malaria, dengue, and corona.”
‘I stand firmly by every word I have spoken,’ Stalin said
After the row erupted following his remarks, the Tamil Nadu minister for Youth Welfare clarified that he had not called for “genocide”, adding that “Uprooting Sanatana Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality.”
“I never called for the genocide of people who are following Sanatan Dharma.
Sanatan Dharma
is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Uprooting Sanatan Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality,” Udhayanidhi Stalin wrote in a message on X (formally Twitter).
Reiterating his statement at the ‘Sanatana Abolition Conference’, Udhayanidhi Stalin wrote, “I stand firmly by every word I have spoken. I spoke on behalf of the oppressed and marginalised, who suffer due to the Sanatan Dharma.”
“I am ready to present the extensive writings of Periyar and Ambedkar, who conducted in-depth research on Sanatan Dharma and its negative impact on society in any forum,” he added.
