The Madras High Court has refused the request to quash the criminal proceedings against the president of Tamil Nadu unit of Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Annamalai in a matter of hate speech against Christians.
In a YouTube interview,Annamalai had said that a Christian missionary NGO that had filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking ban on bursting of firecrackers during Diwali.
The quash petition by Annamalai was dismissed by Justice N Anand Venkatesh dismissed and a judicial magistrate in Salem was asked to proceed with the matter without being influenced by the High Court’s comments made in matter.
Justice Venkatesh said Annamalai’s matter was yet another case that should serve as “a reminder to those in positions of power and influence” to exercise caution for their “words and deeds have a wider reach and impact on the citizenry of this country.”
The Court said that the idea of Annamalai to file a petition before the Apex Court was a vehicle to stoke “communal tension.”
The petitioner is a former Senior IPS Officer who is expected to know the laws of the land and he is the President of the BJP State Unit in Tamil Nadu.
The judge said that President of the BJP State Unit in Tamil Nadu is a well-known leader and a mass influencer and histhe statements had influence on the people particularly those belonging to the Hindu religion and it carries a lot of impact on this demographic group.
The judge added that the target of his speech is aimed towards a particular religious group and what they were told by the petitioner that the minority religious group is attempting to destroy the culture of the majority religious group. 46.
The Justice said that from the speech of the petitioner, it is unmistakable that he was attempting to portray a calculated attempt made by a Christian Missionary NGO which is funded internationally, to destroy Hindu culture.
Justice remarked that a petition filed in the interests of the environment was suddenly converted into a vehicle for communal tension.
V Piyush, a social activist had filed a complaint against Annamalai. The Complaint was filed before the Salem magistrate court in 2022, Piyush had said that Annamalai had given an interview to a YouTube channel on October 22, 2022, just two days before Diwali that year and in that interview, he had deliberately fanned communal hatred against Christians by saying that it was a missionary NGO that had filed the first case before the Apex Court which was a wrong statement.
The Salem court had taken cognisance and issued summons to Annamalai, following which he approached the High Court with the quashing petition.
Annamalai’s counsel argued before the High Court that the statements made by the BJP member cannot be construed as hate speech and that at best, his statement can only be interpreted as “a cry in anguish.
A very valid point was raised by Justice Venkatesh who highlighted that the hate speech now has a higher reach due to social media. The judge said that courts must shun the traditional approach in interpreting provisions of Sections 153A and 505 of the IPC.
The ustice said that a man addressing a gathering of say 100 people and a man addressing through social media to the entire world are two different scenarios altogether.
The justice said that the on stage speech of the bygone time cannot be compared with that of today.
He added that the law makers were exposed only to the former scenario and never dreamt of such situation, thus the courts must step in to take note of the changed scenario and interpret the provisions of law.