Udhayanidhi Stalin's remark on Sanatana Dharma is 'hate speech', rules Madras High Court

Chennai: The Madras High Court on Wednesday made sharp observations on 2023 remarks made by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sanatana Dharma, calling them "hate speech".

The Madurai Bench of the High Court said that such statements cannot be brushed aside as political opinion. 

What did the court say?

The court made this observation while setting aside an FIR filed by the Tiruchi city police against BJP leader Amit Malviya over social media posts in which he criticised Minister for youth welfare and sports, Udhayanidhi Stalin.

The High court said that it was unfair to punish someone for reacting to a controversial speech while no action was taken against the person who made it.

"It is evident that there has been a clear attack on Hinduism by the Dravida Kazhagam and, subsequently, by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for the past 100 years, to which the Minister belongs. While considering the overall circumstances, it is seen that the petitioner had questioned the hidden meaning of the Minister’s speech," the High Court observed.

Justice S Srimathy said Amit Malviya had only responded to a speech made by Udhayanidhi Stalin and that continuing the case against him would be wrong and harmful. 

"This Court, with pain, records the prevailing situation that the persons who initiate hate speech are let scot-free, while those who react to such hate speech face the wrath of the law. The courts are questioning those who react, but are not setting the law in motion against the persons who initiated the hate speech," it added.

The Madras High Court also clarified that the wording used by Udhayanidhi did, in fact, imply genocide and amounted to hate speech.

"If a group of people following Sanatana Dharma should not exist, the appropriate word is 'genocide'. If Sanatana Dharma is considered a religion, it would amount to 'religicide'. It also implies the eradication of people through any method or through various methods, including ecocide, factocide and culturicide (cultural genocide). Therefore, the Tamil phrase Sanathana Ozhippu would clearly mean genocide or culturicide. In such circumstances, the post by the petitioner questioning the minister’s speech would not amount to hate speech," the court said.

What was the controversy?

Udhayanidhi Stalin, the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin in September 2023 made remarks on Sanatana Dharma, which triggered a nationwide controversy.

During a public event, he said, "Few things cannot be opposed, they should be abolished. We can't oppose dengue, mosquitoes, malaria, or corona; we have to eradicate them. In the same way, we have to eradicate Sanatana, rather than opposing it."