Sanatan Dharma Remark: SC Issues Notice to TN minister Udhayanidhi Stalin

The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Tamil Nadu government and its minister, Udhayanidhi Stalin, in response to a plea seeking the filing of a First Information Report (FIR) against him for his “eradicate Sanatan Dharma” statement.

A bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Bela M Trivedi issued notices on a petition filed by B Jagannath, who sought an FIR against the Tamil Nadu minister on the grounds that his remarks are tantamount to hate speech. The petitioner argued that the Supreme Court had issued several directives in similar cases, including the registration of FIRs.

Senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, representing the petitioner, contended that the minister had allegedly encouraged school students to express that one religion is not good while another is good. Naidu stated, “This court has taken note of similar matters where individuals make such a statement against another’s faith, but in this case, it is a minister making the statement. Here, it is a state, which is telling the school students that so and so religion is wrong.”

When asked by the bench what relief he was seeking from the court, Naidu replied that he was seeking a restraining order against Minister Stalin from making any such statement and, secondly, the registration of an FIR. He added, “We are also seeking that students should be kept out of this.”

The bench remarked, “Although we are issuing notice, you are turning the Supreme Court into a police station by approaching it for the registration of an FIR. You should have gone to the high court.”

Advocate Naidu informed that they approached the Supreme Court because the minister is a public figure, and when they attempted to file an FIR, it was not accepted.