SC dismisses TN govt petition against Kovan

According to a report, the Bench comprising Justices F.M.I. Kalifulla and U.U. Lalit did not find any merit in the state government’s appeal seeking police custody of Kovan. The State government had challenged the High Court order which had stayed the remand of Kovan to police custody. Kovan, 54, propagandist singer was arrested in Tiruchirapalli on Oct 30 for alleged sedition, uploading “defamatory” content against Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and “disturbing public peace.” 

On November 7, the Madras High Court had stayed a local court order remanding Kovan to police custody for two days, saying it was ‘erroneous’. The High Court had passed the interim direction at a special hearing on a petition by the singer, challenging Chief Judicial Magistrate Court’s November 6 order. The alleged defamatory content in the form of videos were uploaded on some Tamil websites which had gone viral in messaging mediums like Whatsapp.