HC quashes defamation case against Minister Nehru

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court quashed a criminal defamation case booked against Minister for Local Administration KN Nehru allegedly for criticising former LA minister SP Velumani in a DMK meeting at Coimbatore in 2020.

Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan passed the order on disposing of a plea by Nehru. The petitioner prayed for quashing the case booked under Section 500 of the IPC (Punishment for defamation) which is pending before the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Coimbatore.

Advocate Aswin Prasanna representing minister Nehru submitted that the entire private complaint is liable to be quashed on the ground that nonfulfillment of the conditions set out in Section 199 sub-clause (3) of CrPC.

The counsel submitted that Nehru’s statement was not in respect of Velumani’s conduct in the discharge of his public functions as required under Section 199 sub-clause (3) of the CrPC.

“The remarks made by the petitioner is his right to free speech as contemplated under Article 19 (1) (a) read with 19 (2) of the Constitution,” the petitioner’s counsel argued.

Recording the submissions, the judge quashed the case observing that there is no averment of how the statement made by the petitioner is harming the reputation of the minister.

“Even though the constitutional freedom of speech and expression is not absolute and can be subjected to reasonable restrictions on grounds such as 'decency and morality among others, we must lay stress on the need to tolerate unpopular views in the socio-cultural space, ” the judge observed.

While addressing a meeting in Coimbatore in 2020, Nehru said that as it was how the AIADMK government imprisoned DMK members and journalists for criticizing Velumani, the former LA minister will also be sent to jail within 11 months.