Chennai: The First Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu DGP and Chennai City Police Commissioner to prevent the release and circulation of a Tamil book, which had derogatory description about Justice G R Swaminathan of the High Court. The book was titled, ‘Is G R Swaminathan a judge or a RSS Rowdy?’ The judges also initiated a contempt of court proceedings against the publisher of the book.
Justice Swaminathan was recently in the national limelight after the INDIA bloc MPs submitted a representation to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking to move a Motion of Impeachment against him. The judge was also criticised for his verdict in the contentious Thirupparankundram Hills row where he ordered the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam lamp at a new pillar identified as ‘Deepathoon’. The State Government has refused to light it and a Division Bench had pulled it up on Tuesday while upholding the single judge’s verdict.
On Wednesday, an advocate moved the First Bench saying the controversial book was to be released by a publishing house Keezhaikaatru and would be sold at the Chennai Book Fair which is being inaugurated on Thursday.
The judges said publication of such a book was a matter of serious concern that required emergent attention of the court. The cover of the book contained a caricature of Justice Swaminathan in Khaki half trousers (RSS uniform) and holding a flame torch and a saffron flag. “The expressions and words used are not only highly derogatory, but virtually abusive...On the face of it, the proposed release of the book as titled and shown in the petition is highly derogatory and abusive and crosses all limits and needs to be dealt with stern hands by the court,” the judges said.
They directed the court Registry to list the matter on January 28 when the police were required to report compliance on the issue.
