Sanatan Dharma row: SC bars registration of fresh cases against Udhayanidhi Stalin

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that no fresh criminal cases should be registered against Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister and DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin in connection with his controversial remarks on ‘Sanatan Dharma’ without its permission.

The order was passed by a Bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar as it dealt with Stalin Jr’s plea seeking the clubbing of various FIRs filed against him across the country.

“List in April. The interim order (granting exemption from appearing before courts below) is to continue and shall apply to the new cases added as well. We direct that no further FIR to be registered on the same cause,” ordered the CJI Khanna-led Bench.

The apex court allowed the amendment application seeking the addition of the complainant since a fresh first information report (FIR) had been registered against the DMK leader in Bihar.

Speaking at a conference in Chennai in September 2023, the then minister for sports and youth affairs had said, “Sanatan Dharma was against social justice and equality and that it should be ‘eradicated’ like malaria and dengue.”

After several criminal proceedings were lodged against Udhayanidhi Stalin following the controversial statement, he moved a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution seeking the consolidation of various FIRs and complaints lodged against him.

Relying upon Articles 19(1)(a) (dealing with freedom of speech and expression) and 25 (which guarantees freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion) of the Constitution, Udhayanidhi Stalin prayed to consolidate multiple FIRs and private complaints and transfer to one state.

In May last year, the Supreme Court issued a notice to multiple state governments and complainants. Later, in August 2024, it granted Stalin Jr an exemption to appear before lower courts in all criminal cases.

In a separate proceeding, the top court had said that it would not entertain a plea seeking a contempt action against Udhayanidhi Stalin over his controversial statements, saying that it would be “impossible” to hear individual cases across the country. “If we start entertaining contempt, we will be flooded with it. We will not go into individual cases,” it had said.

IANS