CHENNAI: Denying permission to conduct meetings to "eradicate Dravidian ideology", the Madras High Court on Monday said that no person has the right to propagate divisive ideas or conduct meetings to ‘abolish’ any ideology.
The HC has observed that persons in power should realise the danger of remarks with "fissiparous tendency".
The Bench also pulled up the police for their alleged failure to take action against some ruling DMK ministers who had participated in an anti-Sanatana Dharma meeting held here in September.
The judge made the observations in a recent order while dismissing a petition filed by Magesh Karthikeyan, who sought a direction from the police to permit him to conduct a "Conference for eradicating Dravidian ideology and coordinating Tamils."
READ MORE | Udhayanidhi's Sanatana remark is not hate speech, says retired HC judge
The petition was filed in the wake of a "Sanatana Dharma Eradication Conference" held here in September, in which DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin participated and made some purported remarks against Sanatana Dharma, which had created a huge controversy.
Pulling up the police for their failure to take action against members of the ruling party and the ministers who had participated in the anti-Sanatana Dharma conclave, the judge said persons in power should realise the danger of speech with "fissiparous" tendency and behave responsibly and restrain themselves from propagating views which will divide people in the name of ideology, caste and religion.
"Instead they may concentrate on eradicating intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious to health, corruption, untouchability and other social evil," the judge noted.
The petitioner claims it was the fundamental right to conduct such a meeting, the judge said.
"This Court cannot subscribe to this view. No person in this country can have a right to propagate divisive ideas and conduct meetings to abolish or eradicate any ideology. Co-existence of multiple and different ideologies is the identity of this country", the judge added.