Madras HC quashes criminal case against 'Kanal' Kannan for his remarks on Periyar

CHENNAI:  Noting that the inscription on the pedestal of the Periyar statue in Srirangam is provocative in nature, the Madras High Court quashed the criminal case against popular cinema stunt director ‘Kanal’ Kannan for his objectionable remarks against the late Thanthai Periyar.

‘Kanal’ Kannan moved a plea to the Madras High Court to quash the pending criminal case against him at Egmore Metropolitan Magistrate Court. Justice G Jayachandran, who heard the plea, wrote that the inscriptions about theists were of a provocative nature, thus making the petitioner’s speech also provocative.

The known stunt director and Hindu Munnani functionary ‘Kanal’ Kannan made a speech calling for the demolition of the statue of Dravidar Kazhagam founder ‘Periyar’ EV Ramasamy near Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple at Srirangam.

In his speech, he also claimed that the Hindus could be uplifted once the statue was demolished. The speech triggered several controversies in the political arena as the video of the speech went viral on social media. Subsequently, S Kumaran, a Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK) member, lodged a complaint against ‘Kanal’ Kannan for his objectionable speech.

Based on the complaint, cybercrime police in Chennai booked a case against ‘Kanal’ Kannan under section 153,505 (1) (b), 505 (2) of the IPC.

On August 16, 2022, the police arrested Kannan in Puducherry.