Madurai City cyber crime police registered an FIR against Maridhas for criticising the DMK government on social media.
The Madras High Court has quashed two cases against Vlogger and social media activist Maridhas and Social Media commentator Kishor K Swamy. The judiciary snubbed the arrogant, biased and repressive DMK regime and its police machinery, which is a double whammy for the DMK dispensation.
The DMK regime has been on a witch hunt on arresting those making powerful critical voices against the rule and the rulers, particularly CM M. K. Stalin, his son and cabinet colleagues. The opposition, particularly BJP, Sangh Parivar and social media activists, have pointed out the lapses, irregularities and counter to their false propaganda. Even before the assembly elections, Stalin's political heir, Udhayanidhi Stalin, openly threatened that they had a list and would show them their (critics) places after assuming power.
On the 14th of this month, a single bench headed by Justice G R Swaminathan quashed an FIR registered against YouTuber Maridhas by the Madurai City cyber crime police for posting a tweet saying, "Is TM turning another Kashmir under the DMK regime?" Which he deleted subsequently. He was booked and arrested based on a DMK IT wing functionary complaint. The police acted on a record speed by registering FIR and arrest of Maridhas. The police shifted him from one jail to another and finally lodged him in Chennai Puzhal.
Even before the HC quashed the FIR lodged in Madurai, the police dug its dust bins to find out if any old complaints were pending. Their intention was to keep him in jail, to dissuade him from active participation in social media, particularly making critical comments against DMK government CM Stalin. As luck would have it, their efforts ended in retrieving an old case. Tirunelveli police's FIR in 2020 came in handy for them. A complaint was lodged against him for making remarks in a video linking the Tablighi Jamaat meeting in Delhi as a prime reason for the spread of COVID-19.
The quash petition came before the same Judge (G R Swaminathan). While quashing the FIR against Maridhas, the judge observed that criticism of organization could not be equated with criticism of Islam.
He said the meet was held at Nizamuddin Markaz when the COVID-19 pandemic started and public congregations were banned.
The judge observed, "one can't lose sight of the fact that India is seen as a soft target by global terror networks. Terrorism can take any form. When pandemic struck, it was seen as another form of bio-warfare. Such reports were very much made even in the mainstream media." Maridhas has become more popular because of the hasty action by the MK government.
In another jolt to the government, a Division Bench of Justices P N Prakash and R Hemalathan has (on 23rd December) quashed an order passed by the Chennai Commissioner of Police in June this year to detain social media commentator Kishore K Swamy under the Goondas Act. He was booked earlier in six cases for making derogatory remarks against women journalists. The bench quashed the detention order and advised the petitioner's counsel to apply for bail in the individual criminal cases where the police had arrested the detainee. The judges said, "There is an inordinate and unexplained delay of two days in submitting the remarks by the detaining authority and an unexplained delay of 42 days in considering the representation by the Home Minister. The impugned detention order is therefore liable to be quashed".
Seeman's Naam Tamizhar katchi (NAM) functionaries are also being targeted. Seeman said, "They (DMK) can counter our statement with words instead of unleashing violence". Recently DMK goons created a scene in NAM meet, and a senior functionary was arrested twice for making comments against CM Stalin. Former CM Edapadi K Palanisway said, "Even the DMK held thousands of meetings across the state and criticized the AIADMK using derogatory words."
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