The judge says he is not inclined to reproduce her speech in his order even for the sake of reference.
Observing that the right to freedom of speech cannot be taken advantage of by anyone to cross the limits of decency, the Madras High Court has refused to grant anticipatory bail to AIADMK women’s wing State deputy secretary Amudha in a criminal case booked for her speech.
Justice A.D. Jagadish Chandira wrote that he was not inclined to reproduce her speech in his order even for the sake of reference because of unethical, filthy and unparliamentary words that she had used against Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, his family members and a few other Ministers.
The judge also agreed with the submissions of Government Advocate (Criminal Side) S. Santhosh that though the petitioner had filed an affidavit of apology, for the purpose of obtaining advance bail, it does not diclose any whole-hearted remorse or regret for having delivered such a vulgar speech.
“Instead, the contents of the affidavit discloses that by way of clever drafting, an attempt is sought to be made to justify her speech. This court is not satisfied with the affidavit, filed by the petitioner, which is claimed to be one of apology without any whole-hearted repentance,” the judge observed.
The contentious speech was delivered by the petitioner during the 116th birth anniversary celebrations of former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai at Attur in Salem district on September 22, 2024. Then, she was accused of abusing the State government as well as former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi too.
The Attur rural police had registered a First Information Report against her under Sections 296(b) (uttering obscene words), 352 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) and 353 (making statements with the intent to disturb public tranquillity) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
The FIR was registered on October 18, 2024 after obtaining necessary instructions from the higher officials and also the opinion of the public prosecutor. Therefore, the dealy in registration of the FIR could also not become a ground for grant of anticipatory bail to the petitioner, the judge said.
Justice Chandira recalled that the High Court had recently refused to grant advance bail to actor Kasturi too in a case booked for having made a derogatory speech. “In such circumstances, this court feels that it is not a fit case for grant of anticipatory bail and thereby, the petition is liable to be dismissed,” he concluded.
Published – December 14, 2024 08:09 pm IST
