Chennai: In an interim decision, the Supreme Court on Monday intervened to suspend criminal proceedings initiated against Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai.
The case stemmed from statements made by Annamalai during an interview in October 2022, where he alleged that a Christian NGO was responsible for initiating a case to ban the use of crackers during Diwali. The court, presided over by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, noted that prima facie, no evidence of hate speech was found, leading to the stay on further proceedings.
The bench, including Justice Dipankar Datta, issued a notice to the complainant, V. Piyush, who had filed the case against Annamalai in Salem’s magistrate court. The matter is scheduled to be heard during the week commencing April 29, 2024.
The Madras High Court had previously dismissed Annamalai’s petition seeking the quashing of the criminal case, stating that his interview indicated a divisive intent, as it was edited to focus on remarks portraying a Christian NGO in a negative light. Annamalai had given the interview just days before Diwali, alleging the involvement of a Christian NGO in the cracker ban case.
The complainant accused Annamalai of deliberately stoking communal tensions by spreading falsehoods. The Salem magistrate court had taken cognizance of the complaint, leading Annamalai to seek relief from the Madras High Court, which was subsequently denied.