Supreme Court Bars New Cases Against Tamil Nadu Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin Over Sanatana Dharma Remarks

In a significant legal development the Supreme Court of India has ruled that no new First Information Reports FIRs can be registered against Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin concerning his controversial remarks on Sanatana Dharma without the Courts explicit permission

This interim order was issued on March six two thousand twenty five by a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar The decision came in response to Stalins plea seeking the consolidation of multiple criminal cases filed against him across various states

Background of the Controversy

The controversy dates back to September two thousand twenty three when Udhayanidhi Stalin made remarks equating Sanatana Dharma to diseases like dengue and malaria Speaking at a conference organized by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association in Chennai he stated

There are some things which we have to eradicate and we cannot merely oppose Mosquitoes dengue fever malaria corona all these are things which we cannot oppose we have to eradicate them Sanatanam is also like this

These statements triggered widespread outrage leading to multiple FIRs being filed against him in various parts of the country including Maharashtra Bihar Jammu and Karnataka

Legal Proceedings and Supreme Court Decision

In response to the growing number of cases Udhayanidhi Stalin approached the Supreme Court requesting that all cases be consolidated into a single jurisdiction to prevent multiple legal proceedings The Court had previously suggested transferring all cases to Karnataka and had granted him an exemption from personal appearances in the trials

During the hearing on March six Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi representing Stalin informed the Court about the filing of fresh complaints including a recent one in Bihar Expressing concern over this the bench remarked You cannot keep filing new complaints

As a result the Court ordered that no further FIRs be registered on the same issue without its explicit permission It also extended the interim protection against arrest that had been granted to Stalin in the existing cases

Arguments Presented in Court

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta representing the Maharashtra government strongly criticized Stalins remarks questioning whether such statements would be tolerated if they were directed against other religions

If the chief minister of another state had said this about another religion let Islam be eradicated would this be tolerated Just because a community does not react violently This gentleman is a deputy CM and these are irresponsible words

However the Supreme Court clarified that it was not addressing the merits of Stalins statement but was focused on the procedural aspect of consolidating the cases

Future Course of Action

The Supreme Court has issued notices to the complainants in the fresh cases and has scheduled the next hearing for the week commencing April twenty one two thousand twenty five Until then the interim order preventing the registration of new FIRs without the Courts permission remains in effect

This decision highlights the judiciarys role in balancing the right to freedom of speech while preventing the misuse of legal processes for harassment through multiple litigations across different jurisdictions The upcoming hearing will further determine the legal course of action regarding the cases filed against Udhayanidhi Stalin