CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Wednesday restrained the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) from filing charge sheet till Friday in the tweet case registered against TVK general secretary (election campaign) Aadhav Arjuna.
The direction was issued by Justice A D Jagadish Chandira while hearing a petition filed by Aadhav Arjuna seeking to quash the FIR filed against him by the cyber crime wing of GCP over his post on X calling upon the youth to stage an uprising as in the neighbouring countries of Sri Lanka and Nepal.
The judge adjourned the case to Friday for continuing the arguments.
Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Arjuna, submitted that the post on X was not intended for inciting disorder but it was made out of anger due to the police brutality during the Karur stampede. Stating that the post was made at midnight and was deleted shortly, he said even if it was not deleted, it would not have had an impact.
Senior counsel N R Elango, representing the police, submitted that Aadhav Arjuna absconded after the stampede on September 27 without taking responsibility for the disaster. Yet, he resurfaced on September 29 midnight with the tweet calling for the uprising. The post on X was there for 39 minutes and one lakh people viewed it. Deletion of it will neither absolve him nor give immunity, he said.
Police have a duty to register a case and investigate if a cognisable offence is made out, Elango told the court.