CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has stated that the talk of creating a separate Tamil nation would no longer be construed as sedition under the prevailing social milieu, but someone talking so would be considered having mental health problems.
The comments were made by Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy while quashing a sedition case pending against V Keera @ Moorthi of KK Nagar and M Thamil Bala of Saligram, in Chennai, who runs the publishing house ‘Kalagam Pathippagam.’
The matter pertains to publishing a book written by Elangovan (since deceased) by Kalagam Pathippagam. It was released on October 12, 2014 in Chennai. The book had a reference to late Naxalite leader Tamizharasan of Tamil Nadu Liberation Army and his speech delivered in 1967 seeking formation of a separate Tamil nation and launching guerilla warfare for it.
Justice Chakravarthy noted it can be seen that the book does not even mention it as a present-day affair but only records what had happened when Tamizharasan was alive. “Mere recording of what had happened will not even amount to an attempt to incite hatred,” the judge said.
The police had registered a case under IPC section 125(A) for sedition. It was pending before a magistrate court. Seeking to quash the case, they approached the high court.
In a recent order, the judge noted that the Supreme Court had held that the acts have to be considered in the light of the current social milieu and the times in which we are living. It will be true that during the days of Tamizharasan, in 1967, when he formed the Tamil Liberation Front, such a speech or publication would have incited hatred or contempt of the government.
“But in today’s scenario, India, as a nation, is unified by heart and soul. If any person speaks about dividing Tamil Nadu into a separate nation, the person will certainly be referred to as having mental health issues and it will not excite any hatred at all among the common public,” the judge said.