PATNA: A court in Bihar on Tuesday took cognisance of a complaint and issued summons against Udhayanidhi Stalin, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader and son of Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin, for his remarks on ‘Sanatana Dharma’.
Udhayanidhi Stalin, who is a sports minister, has been booked under section 298 (hurting religious sentiments) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
A bench headed by Manoranjan Jha acknowledged the complaint and issued a summons against Udhayanidhi Stalin asking the latter to appear before the court either personally or through his lawyer for bail. The court has scheduled the next hearing for April 1, 2024.
A practising lawyer of Ara civil court in Bhojpur district of Bihar had lodged a complaint against Udhayanidhi under sections 120 (B), 153(A), 153 (B), 295 (A) and 298 of IPC. Advocate Aditya, primary witness in the complaint, highlighted that Indian law for passing remarks on caste and religion.
Udhayanidhi triggered a controversy following his speech at ‘Sanatana Abolition Conference’ in September last year.
He had compared Sanatana Dharma to disease like ‘mosquito-borne fevers and coronavirus', saying it needed to be eradicated similarly.
Another similar complaint case has been filed in a Muzaffarpur court by advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha.