Chennai: Months after Tamil Nadu Sports Minister and Chief Minister M K Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin remarked that Sanatana Dharma must be eradicated just like corona, dengue and malaria, the Madras High Court on Wednesday said his comments “are perverse, divisive and contrary to Constitutional principles and ideas and tantamount to gross disinformation.”
However, Justice Anita Sumanth refused to issue writs of quo warranto questioning under what authority Udhayanidhi, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister P K Sekarbabu and Nilgiris DMK MP A Raja were holding public office, on the grounds that such a writ “cannot be issued at the present stage”.
Passing orders on a petition seeking to issue quo warrantos to the three, who had participated in a conference that called for eradication of Sanatana Dharma, she said, this relief was premature as multiple FIRs have been lodged against the three in different police station but they have not been convicted as yet.
“While there may be ideological differences between persons holding power, the differences are expected to be based on a thorough understanding of the system being critiqued and importantly, such criticism must be constructive and not destructive,” the court said, adding Ministers must make factually correct statements.
“Whatever may be their ideology, such persons must propound only one morality that is the morality propounded by the Constitution,” Justice Anita Sumanth said, while refusing to buy the argument of Sekarbabu that he had only attended the event but did not speak there. She said the fact that he had participated in the event, “itself shows the endorsement of the purpose of the theme of the conference.”
