Chennai: A Madras high court division bench of Justices Nisha Banu and Mala has observed that a person who claims to be the protector of Sanatana Dharam cannot use unsavoury words on social media.
The judges imposed a fine of ₹2,000 on Rangarajan Narasimhan, a ‘Sanatani’, for his obnoxious post on the microblogging platform X and directed him to “detox” from social media for at least two weeks.
The judges said a person who claims to be a ‘Rakshak of Santana Dharma’ should not use unsavoury words such as Vesi (sex workers) on social media platforms. The judges said this while passing orders on a contempt of court petition filed by industrialist Venu Srinivasan against Narasimhan. The industrialist said Narasimhan had posted two messages on the social media platform ‘X’.
While finding no violation in respect of one post, the judges noted, “We, at the same time, cannot but object to the use of the word Vesi for it admittedly refers to sex workers. The respondent who claims to be a rakshak of Sanatana Dharma should not have used the unsavoury word in the social media platforms. Use of such unpalatable words cannot be encouraged.”
Detox from social media platforms for at least 2 weeks: Court to Narasimhan
The judges added, “We recommend the respondent to detox from social media platforms for at least two weeks in the fond hope that he would realise the importance of maintaining decency and decorum in social media platforms which are used both by the old and wise and the young and impressionable.”
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, responding to questions from journalists on the Madras High Court judge’s observation that police should have registered a case regarding his participation in a conference seeking to eradicate Sanatana Dharma, said he had not said anything wrong.
“The post of Minister or MLA will come today and go away tomorrow but first I have to be a human,” he said, reiterating his opposition to Sanatana Dharma (which he believed perpetuated discrimination on the basis of Manu Smriti and Varnashrama.)