Sedition case on publishers quashed

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has quashed a sedition case against two publishers, holding that, in the present social milieu, the mere publication of a statement calling for a separate Tamil Nadu does not constitute sedition.

Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy observed that India is now a nation united in “heart and soul” and that a call for Tamil Nadu to become a separate nation would not incite hatred among the public. At most, such a statement could annoy, the Court said.

“But in today’s scenario, if any person speaks about dividing Tamil Nadu into a separate nation, the person will certainly be referred to as having mental health issues. It will not excite any hatred at all among the general public. At best, it will cause annoyance,” the judge observed.

The Court was hearing a petition filed by Keera alias Moorthi and Thamil Bala seeking to quash criminal proceedings pending before the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Chennai.

The petitioners, who ran a publishing house, had published a book on the life of the Tamil Nadu Liberation Army (TNLA) founder, Thamizharasan.

The book allegedly stated that in 1967, Thamizharasan had declared that Tamil Nadu should become a separate nation and had advocated guerrilla warfare to achieve secession. Treating the publication as seditious, the police registered a case against the publishers.

Opposing the plea, the State argued that the publication amounted to sedition and pointed out that a chargesheet had already been filed.

The Court, however, held that while the statement in question might have incited hatred or contempt against the Government when it was made in 1967, it would not amount to sedition in the present-day context.

Holding that the essential ingredients of the offence of sedition were absent, the Court allowed the petition and quashed the case.