Madras High Court Reserves Judgment on TVK Leader's Petition to Quash FIR Over Karur Stampede Social Media Post

The case originates from the leader's social media posts following the tragic Karur stampede incident.

Chennai:

The Madras High Court has reserved its decision on a petition submitted by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) General Secretary Aadhav Arjuna. The petition seeks to nullify a First Information Report (FIR) filed against him for allegedly publishing inflammatory content on social media suggesting a potential "Gen Z revolution" against the Tamil Nadu government.

Chennai Cyber Crime Police registered the FIR under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS 192, 196(1)(b), 197(1)(d), 353(1)(b), and 353(2)), charging him with offences including promotion of enmity, incitement of violence, and dissemination of rumors harmful to national integrity.

The legal action stems from Arjuna's posts on X (previously known as Twitter) dated September 29 and 30, following the deadly stampede during TVK's public gathering in Karur on September 27, which resulted in 41 fatalities. In these posts, Arjuna cautioned that Tamil Nadu might experience a youth uprising comparable to movements witnessed in Sri Lanka and Nepal if the government failed to address public outrage. He subsequently removed these posts within 34 minutes.

In his petition, Aadhav Arjuna asserted that the FIR was politically driven and his comments were misconstrued. His legal representative argued that the post neither targeted any specific community or religion nor instigated any violence. The defense emphasized that law enforcement filed the FIR approximately 18 hours after the post's deletion.

The prosecution countered by stating that the post had already reached over one hundred thousand users, had the potential to provoke unrest, and that police acted within their legal authority.

After considering arguments from both parties, Justice Jagadish Chandra reserved the judgment without specifying when it would be announced.