New Delhi
The Supreme Court has issued notice on a petition by Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin seeking to combine several FIRs and complaints lodged against him for his controversial remarks about ‘Sanatan Dharm.’ Justice Sanjiv Khanna’s bench agreed to hear the case and asked for responses from various state governments.
On April 1, the Bench, which included Justice Dipankar Datta, allowed time to update the petition with additional developments. The petition mentioned that except for one complaint in Bangalore, all other FIRs are in states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jammu & Kashmir.
Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks about eradicating ‘Sanatan Dharma’ drew significant criticism, leading to multiple complaints. He compared the ideology to harmful diseases like malaria or dengue and insisted that it should be eradicated. Despite backlash, he stood by his words, saying he wouldn’t apologize and would continue expressing his views.
His petition argued that the multiple cases across various regions pose safety risks and make it challenging for him to appear at different police stations and courts. The Supreme Court previously rejected a contempt action against Stalin for his comments, stating it would be impossible to handle individual cases from all over India.
