Madras HC reserves order on plea against bail to R S Bharathi

The Madras High Court on Friday reserved its order on a petition seeking to cancel the bail granted to DMK leader R S Bharathi in connection with alleged remarks made against the SC community, observing that he should desist from making such comments against any section of people. When the plea by Kalyana Sundaram of Adi Thamizhar Makkal Katchi seeking to cancel the bail granted to Bharathi came up, Justice N Sathish Kumar reserved the order.

The CCB also challenged the bail alleging it was granted in a causal manner by the lower court. During the hearing, counsel for the defacto complainant Kalyana Sundaram put forth hisarguments.

He submitted that if such a speech was given by an ordinary speaker who propagates for the political party to which Bharathi belongs it would have been ignored. Claiming that Bharathi was habitual in making 'derogatory' statements, he said earlier it was against Brahmins who constitute 5 percent of the population and now it was againstthe SC/ST community who constitute 26 percent of the population.

Being a lawyer for decades and a member of Parliament, Bharathi is makingderogatory speechesagainst 31 per cent of the population of the country, the counsel for defacto complainant, based on whose plaint an FIR was registered against the DMK leader, said. The DMK MP was arrested by the CCB here on May 23, for his alleged derogatory remark against the members of SC/ST communities.

Within hours a session's court judge remanded him to judicial custody but granted him interim bail till June 1, primarily on grounds of Covid-19 pandemic. Aggrieved, the CCB moved the High Court seeking to cancel the interim bail.

On May 30, the High Court dismissed CCB's plea and refused to cancel the bail. Later, on June 1, the trial court allowed a fresh bail plea moved by Bharathi.

Challenging the same, the CCB moved the Apex Court. As the top court refused hearing and directed the CCB to approach the High Court, the present plea was moved.