Defamation cases: Interim relief for BJP leader H Raja as Madras HC suspends his jail term
When the two criminal revision petitions that Raja moved seeking to set aside his conviction by the special court for hearing cases related to MPs/MLAs came for hearing, Justice L Victoria Gowri allowed the petitions by suspending the imprisonment ordered by the special court in two different cases till the disposal of the appeals.
Madras High Court (File)
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday suspended the one-year imprisonment awarded to senior BJP leader and former Assembly member H Raja for his derogatory statements against EV Periyar Ramasamy and DMK leader Kanimozhi.
When the two criminal revision petitions that Raja moved seeking to set aside his conviction by the special court for hearing cases related to MPs/MLAs came for hearing, Justice L Victoria Gowri allowed the petitions by suspending the imprisonment ordered by the special court in two different cases till the disposal of the appeals. The judge also allowed Raja to be released on his own bond.
On December 2, the special court convicted Raja in both cases and ordered six months' simple imprisonment each besides a Rs 5,000 fine. The court then granted him liberty to move an appeal challenging the conviction.
"It cannot be allowed that anybody can post any kind of message on social media and escape from the consequences and from the clutches of law, which would be highly dangerous to the societal order and public peace," held special court judge G Jayavel, who found Raja guilty in both the cases.
The court also held that the message on Periyar posted on Raja’s social media handle disturbed public peace and tranquility.
In 2018, Raja published derogatory comments against the late chief minister M Karunanidhi and his daughter Kanimozhi on his social media handle. Following that, several complaints were lodged against the senior BJP leader at the Erode Town police station. Based on the complaints, Raja was booked under sections 153, 504, and 509 of IPC.
Similarly, he also uploaded a post on his social media handle stating that Periyar’s statue would be demolished like how Vladimir Lenin's statue was brought down in Tripura after the Left regime was ousted. Cases were filed against Raja on the grounds of the propensity to instigate violence and clashes among groups resulting in disturbance to public order.
Facing several cases, Raja moved a petition in the High Court seeking to quash all the cases registered against him. However, the High Court on August 29, 2023, refused to quash the cases and transferred them to the special court for trial.