Order convicting me is illegal; H Raja appeals special court order convicting him

CHENNAI: BJP senior leader H Raja moved an appeal in the Madras High Court seeking to set aside the order convicting him for a year in two different cases of making derogatory remarks against Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and Thanthai Periyar.

Judgment rendered by the trial court is illegal in all parameters and the same deserves to be set aside as it suffered the vice of non application of mind with regard to the settled principles of law in appreciating the evidence which is not on record, contended Raja.

In the absence of direct evidence given by the aggrieved persons, no evidence can be introduced through the investigating officer, hence the trial court had fallen in grave error in taking into consideration the facts which are not let in before the court, he added.

On December 2, the special court for hearing cases releated MPs/MLAs, held that "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" and found H Raja is guilty in both the cases and sentenced 6 months imprisonment in each case.

The court also held that the content of Raja's message on his X handle about Thanthai Periyar, has disturbed the public peace and tranquility.

In 2018, H Raja published derogatory comments against the former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and his daughter Kanimozhi in his X handle. Followed by the post, several complaints were lodged against H Raja in Erode Town police station. Based on the complaints Raja booked under sections 153, 504 and 509 of IPC

Similarly, H Raja made a post in his X handle against Thanthai Periyar that his statue would be demolished like Vladimir Lenin's statue was demolished in Tripura. Cases were filed against H Raja on the grounds of the propensity to instigate violence and clashes among groups resulting in disturbance to public order.