In a significant legal development, the Madras High Court, led by Justice N Anand Venkatesh, has initiated suo motu proceedings against Tamil Nadu Minister K Ponmudy over his controversial remarks deemed akin to hate speech. The court has directed the High Court Registry to escalate the matter to Chief Justice K Sriram for further deliberation.
This action stems from an incident on April 8, when Ponmudy reportedly made contentious comments during a local meeting. The matter came under judicial scrutiny on April 17 when a video clip of Ponmudy’s remarks was presented during a court hearing by a lawyer. This hearing was part of a 2023 suo motu revision petition against Ponmudy’s acquittal in a disproportionate assets case, a proceeding also initiated by Justice Venkatesh.
The judge criticized the state police for their inaction despite previous court orders to file an FIR against the minister for his remarks. Justice Venkatesh emphasized the police’s responsibility to enforce Supreme Court directives aimed at curbing hate speech.
In defense, Senior Advocate and state counsel P Wilson indicated that the police had received multiple complaints about Ponmudy’s remarks but closed the investigations, concluding that the remarks did not constitute a prosecutable offense. This was further compounded by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court dismissing two petitions seeking action against Ponmudy for the same comments.
However, Justice Venkatesh reiterated the judiciary’s stance against hate speech, translating Ponmudy’s comments from Tamil to English in court and questioning the appropriateness of such remarks in public or private settings. According to the court, Ponmudy’s narrative involving derogatory references to religious groups and sex workers was not only offensive but aimed at disrupting communal harmony.
Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, representing Ponmudy, argued that the comments were part of a decades-old story and were made in a closed meeting, suggesting that the publicized version of the speech was truncated and taken out of context.
Despite these defenses, the court maintained its position on zero tolerance for hate speech and proceeded to formally record the initiation of suo motu proceedings against the minister. This legal scrutiny comes after the Supreme Court had temporarily suspended Ponmudy’s December 2023 conviction and jail sentence in a separate case, allowing him to resume his duties in the state cabinet.
