The Madras High Court on Wednesday restrained the Tamil Nadu police from filing the final report in a criminal case registered against Ponraj, a political commentator and former scientific advisor to the late President A P J Abdul Kalam, for allegedly making derogatory remarks against women followers of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
Interim Order by Justice Ilanthiraiyan
Justice G K Ilanthiraiyan passed the interim order on a petition filed by Ponraj seeking to quash the First Information Report (FIR) registered against him based on a complaint by State Energy Minister R Nirmalkumar.
According to the complainant, on March 18, he came across a YouTube interview by Ponraj that was highly derogatory against women in general. The cybercrime wing of the Chennai Central Crime Branch (CCB) police registered the FIR on May 12 based on the complaint.
Ponraj's Petition
In his petition, Ponraj argued that the YouTube video had been deleted much before the registration of the FIR. He contended that the registration of the case was a clear instance of misuse of political power for vendetta and that the complaint was intended to silence legitimate political criticism, which is protected as free speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
The court has now restrained the police from filing the final report in the case until further orders.
