Plea seeks Madras High Court probe into CJP leader’s alleged Nepali ancestry

CHENNAI: A plea was filed before the Madras High Court on Friday seeking a detailed, fair probe by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs into the background of Yogesh Sharma alias Saurav Das, national co-convenor of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), and, if found guilty, cancellation of his passport and Aadhaar card.

The plea questioned his nationality and asked the court to examine his alleged Nepali ancestry.

The First Bench of the Madras High Court, comprising Chief Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan, has issued notice to the Regional Passport Officer, Chennai, the Chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the Union Home Ministry, the Foreign Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, the Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice, and the Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

The court issued notice, returnable in six weeks, and adjourned the hearing.

Ganesh Kumar of Kancheepuram district has filed the PIL seeking a direction to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block the X and Instagram accounts operating in the name of "Saurav Das" and prevent him from making derogatory remarks against the judiciary and Supreme Court judges.

He also sought to restrain Saurav Das from making defamatory, abusive, threatening, and disparaging remarks against judges of the Supreme Court, High Courts, and subordinate courts on any media platform, including social media, under the guise of freedom of speech and expression. The restriction should also cover statements made through his friends, colleagues, agents or representatives, pending disposal of the case.

The petitioner alleged that Saurav Das had been constantly abusing the Indian judiciary while making no allegations against the judiciary of Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan or any other country. He claimed this amounted to an abuse of the Constitution and sought an inquiry into Saurav Das's alleged Nepalese ancestry.

He further alleged that, if the information was true, a person named Yogesh Sharma, having roots in Nepal, had concealed his origins and fraudulently obtained an Aadhaar card, voter ID and Indian passport. He sought a detailed probe into how these documents were obtained, the sources of funding for the alleged remarks against the judiciary and the persons providing such funds. He also sought an investigation into the bank accounts through which the funds were received.