Kasthuri’s comments akin to hate speech, apology ploy to escape: Madras HC
Her statement has painted all Telugu-speaking people in a bad light, added Justice Venkatesh.
actor Kasthuri; Madras High Court
CHENNAI: Tendering apology after making scurrilous and derogatory statements is only a ploy to escape from the consequences and hence could not be entertained; instead, a strong message must be sent, said the Madras High Court while dismissing the anticipatory bail plea moved by actor Kasthuri, who is on the dock for making demeaning remarks against the Telugu community.
Terming the statement made by the actor as one that clearly hovers close to being hate speech, Justice N Anand Venkatesh said such comments can act like a ticking bomb, which would explode at the appropriate point of time and create violence among the Tamil and Telugu-speaking people.
While freedom of speech is a fundamental right that empowers individuals to express their thoughts, beliefs and opinions, it should not be misused to spread hatred or cause communal disharmony, held the judge.
Kasthuri claims to be an educated and public-spirited person, but what has fallen out of her mouth was highly pejorative, he said. Her statement has painted all Telugu-speaking people in a bad light, added Justice Venkatesh.
"The words uttered are like the arrow which has already left the bow, it will reach its destination and cause the damage," wrote the judge, adding that a halfhearted apology would not address the damage that has already been caused by those words.
The judge also refused to accept her contention that she has already tendered apology for the statement. "There is no genuine attempt to apologise, the petitioner is attempted to justify her speech," he held.
On November 3, while addressing the gathering during a demonstration in Chennai that was organised to protest the alleged oppression against the Brahmin community, Kasthuri allegedly made the derogatory comments against women from the Telugu-speaking community. After the speech triggered angry response from various quarters and several complaints were lodged, the State police booked her sections 192 and 196 (1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
After a case was booked against her by Thirunagar police station in Madurai, Kasthuri, who campaigned for the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, moved the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court seeking anticipatory bail.