Madras High Court Stays Defamation Case Filed By DMK's Murasoli Trust Against BJP State General Secretary Dr. R Srinivasan
Murasoli Trust alleged that Srinivasan made defamatory statements by sending a letter to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and posting it on his Facebook page.
Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan, Madras High Court
The Madras High Court has passed an interim Order staying the criminal proceedings under Sections 499 and 500 of the IPC initiated by Murasoli Trust, which owns DMK's mouthpiece Murasoli, against Dr. R. Srinivasan, pending the disposal of the Petition filed by him.
The Respondent (Murasoli Trust) alleged that the Petitioner, Bharatiya Janata Party's Tamil Nadu State General Secretary, made defamatory statements by sending a letter to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) and posting it on his Facebook page. The letter alleged that the land of the Murasoli office is "Panchamy land" and sought an investigation. The Respondent called it a “calculated attempt to malign their reputation” and the party cadres.
A Single Bench of Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan ordered, “There shall be an order of interim stay of all further proceedings in C.C.No.1279 of 2020 pending on the file of the XIV Metropolitan Magistrate at Egmore, Chennai.”
Advocate M. Ramamoorthi appeared for the Petitioner.
Brief Facts
The Petitioner argued that the complaint was baseless as it was "tailor-made" to harass and silence him from taking up an issue of "great public importance" concerning the rights of the scheduled caste. It was submitted that the issue at hand deals with the right of the Scheduled Caste, specifically regarding "Panchamy land".
The Petitioner sought the quashing of all further proceedings pending on the file of the Trial Court in a defamation case initiated by the Murasoli Trust. The Trial Court took cognizance of the complaint and issued summons against the Petitioner.
It was further argued, “The allegations made by the petitioner cannot even be said to be resting on flimsy foundation, as the allegations of the respondent are without foundation and it cannot even be held that the conviction for the alleged offences are bleak as there is no chance of any conviction of the petitioners for alleged offences said to have been committed by the petitioner. The impugned private complaint is liable to be quashed.”
Consequently, the Court ordered, “Notice to the respondent. Private Notice is also permitted.”
Cause Title: Dr. R. Srinivasan v. Murasoli Trust (Crl.M.P.No.8735 of 2025)
