Relief poured in for BJP leader Amit Malviya when the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court annulled a Tiruchi police FIR from 2023 on Tuesday. At the heart was Malviya’s alleged misrepresentation of Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin’s provocative remarks against Sanatan Dharma.
Justice S. Srimathi deemed Stalin’s speech hate speech, stating Malviya’s critique was a natural rebuttal. Continuing the case, she warned, would pervert justice and cause lasting prejudice to the BJP spokesperson.
In her detailed order, the judge referenced the enduring hostility toward Hinduism from Dravidian outfits like DK and DMK over 100 years. She concluded Malviya had rightly flagged the insinuations in Stalin’s address.
Charges invoked IPC 153, 153A, and 505(1)(b) after DMK’s K.A.V. Thiyagarajan complained that Malviya doctored the speech to suggest genocidal intent against the Hindu majority and amplified it in Hindi to sow discord.
The posts triggered extreme reactions, including a Rs 10 crore reward announced by Ayodhya’s Paramhans Acharya for Stalin’s head, bolstering claims of incitement.
Malviya filed a petition to void the FIR, and after thorough review, the court granted his plea, effectively closing the chapter. The ruling highlights judicial caution against weaponizing FIRs in ideological clashes.