The issue of Sanatana Dharma is once again before the Supreme Court. A new application has just hit the judges’ table over the weekend. It raises the question about the latest remarks made by Udhayanidhi Stalin. Now he is the new Leader of the Opposition in Tamilnadu. He is saying the same thing that got him in lots of trouble in court a few years ago
It was a while ago when Advocate Amita Sachdeva first filed a contempt petition. She said that the police were sitting on their hands. They were flouting strictures of the top court on immediate action to be taken on hate speech. That contempt case was appealed to the Supreme Court on April 29 this year. Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi even sought answers from the authorities.
Then Udhayanidhi unleashed his mouth once more. The next application was taken through by advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain. The attorneys argued before the court that Stalin is ignoring the judges’ orders before. They wish to have his brand new statements entered into the official court records. They’re asking the court to take a look at a “total disregard of the ongoing judicial process
What’s going on in the Assembly Hall?What’s happening on the floor of the Assembly Hall?
In order to determine the source of the fury of the lawyers, the reader must keep in mind what transpired on May 12. Political change of guard in Tamil Nadu. Actor Vijay’s new party won the recent state elections and the DMK suffered a loss. The Udhayanidhi Stalin is not a potent state minister anymore. He’s on the opposition bench now.
He rose in the very first session of the newly established Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Actually, he was complaining about a Tamil state invocational song called Tamil Thai Vazhthu. He said that the new government lowered the song in their swearing-in ceremony. He then switched back to his old talking points, however. He informed the assembly that Sanatana Dharma has separated people and has to be certainly abolished.
That was the outside of the lawyers’ thoughts. He did so on purpose, according to the petition. They believe that had he not wanted to, he wouldn’t have spoken it at assembly in front of the new Chief Minister. The legislators are protected in a special way. So what is said inside the assembly, gets shelter from Article 194 of the Constitution. The petitioners think he was “well aware” of the “safeness” of the venue and the “opportunity” he had to repeat his controversial views
A Long History of Trouble
This is by no means a battle for the first time. This began very early, in September 2023. During the time Udhayanidhi was the youth welfare and sports minister. He attended a conference and likened Sanatana Dharma with the disease of Malaria and Dengue. You can’t simply say no to it,” he said. It must be completely eliminated as it is based on the caste system and historical discrimination.
Haven’t seen a political earthquake like that in the country before. Crimes began to be reported in several states. It was ultimately up to the Supreme Court to intervene. All the scattered FIRs were gathered. They even told the lower courts that he “should be excused from appearance in person at each appearance. The judges didn’t like him a bit, though. In March of 2024, the Supreme Court has just given him a very sharp tongue from his mouth. They told him that he was a minister and that he should be aware of the weightiness of the words that come out of his mouth. They suspected he was violating his First Amendment right to free speech in the Constitution.
So now it’s the lawyers that are throwing those old warnings back at him. The new application states he is demonstrating “persistent hostility. All the new reports from this week were attached to them. They want the judges to witness that the warnings just did not take effect.
The Legal Arguments Building Up
The court case is becoming complex. The petitioners are contending that it is a textbook example of “willful and contumacious disregard”. In other words, that’s just a way for him to trash the court’s legitimacy. Supreme Court had earlier in Shaheen Abdulla set very clear rules. The rules state the state shall automatically record police cases when someone gives a hate speech. It doesn’t matter what religion the speaker belongs to.
The lawyers claim the Tamil Nadu police totally failed to follow that rule when Udhayanidhi spoke in 2023. That’s why it began with the contempt case in the first place. Now they are collecting the evidence of the assembly speech on May 12. They’re arguing with the court that the guy just doesn’t want to quit.
There is also a mention of the Madras High Court in the new legal papers. The high court earlier said that his previous remarks were “very similar to the speech of hate against the Hindus”. And, before they brought their attack against an ancient belief system so publicly, they had asked him what kind of historical research he actually did. All of this criticism in the past is going to help them create a very thick file against him today.
Standing His Ground
Despite all the legal heat he is getting Udhayanidhi is not backing down. He even talked to media outside of party meetings a couple of days later to explain his position. He has said that he is not preventing anybody from visiting temples.
He says his battle is only about social justice. He claims to be “restating” the concepts of the old social reformers such as Periyar and BR Ambedkar. He aims at equal rights for all in society and feels that the old religious fabric is responsible for holding people back into upper and lower castes. He has been very clear that the criticism, and the legal notices are not going to deter him.
