Udhayanidhi Vs Sanatan Dharma: Rights body asks Chennai CP for FIR, to move SC citing contempt of hate speech ruling

Udhayanidhi Stalin, Tamil Nadu’s minister for youth and sports affairs and son of chief minister MK Stalin, might be up for a tough legal challenge even as he faces severe flak from almost all quarters, including some from inside the I.N.D.I.A. Alliance, for his disparaging remarks against ‘Sanatan Dharma’.

“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 (Sanatan Dharma), rather than opposing it,” the DMK scion had said Saturday in Chennai at a presser.

Firstpost has learnt that rights body Legal Rights Observatory (LRO) Monday will move the office of the Police Commissioner of Chennai to inquire whether he has registered a suo motu FIR against Udhayanidhi in the matter, claiming his remarks amounted to “a call for genocide and mass murder”, apart from being “a classical and glaring case of hate speech”.

Moreover, LRO is also preparing to move the Supreme Court in connection with the raging controversy sparked by Udhayanidhi, citing an SC ruling from April this year wherein the apex court directed states to suo motu register FIRs against hate speeches and start legal proceedings against the accused without waiting for a complaint to be lodged.

“We will ask the Chennai Police Commissioner if he has lodged an FIR against Udhayanidhi Stalin for the venom that he spewed on Saturday, which is nothing short of a call for genocide of those who follow the Sanatan Dharma in this country. In fact, he must remember that Sanatanists are still in majority in India.
Nonetheless, if the Commissioner has not lodged an FIR we shall move against him and the state government in the Supreme Court since this is a direct and glaring contempt of the SC ruling from April this year,” LRO national convener Vinay Joshi told Firstpost.

Udhayanidhi’s Defence

The DMK scion, faced with accusations of attemoting to stoke “genocide”, retoted on X (formerly Twitter) that he had not done anything such.
“I never called for the genocide of people who are following Sanatan Dharma,” he posted on X, though he also went on to write that he stood “firmly by every word I have spoken”.

I never called for the genocide of people who are following Sanatan Dharma. Sanatan Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Uprooting Sanatan Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality.

I stand firmly by every word I have spoken. I spoke… https://t.co/Q31uVNdZVb

— Udhay (@Udhaystalin) September 2, 2023

Political Row Erupts

The BJP took strong exception to Udhayanidhi’s remarks and came down heavily on him.

BJP leader Amit Malviya wrote on X: “Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Tamilnadu CM MK Stalin, and a minister in the DMK Govt, has linked Sanatana Dharma to malaria and dengue… He is of the opinion that it must be eradicated and not merely opposed. In short, he is calling for genocide of 80% population of Bharat, who follow Sanatan Dharma.”

Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Tamilnadu CM MK Stalin, and a minister in the DMK Govt, has linked Sanatana Dharma to malaria and dengue… He is of the opinion that it must be eradicated and not merely opposed. In short, he is calling for genocide of 80% population of Bharat, who… pic.twitter.com/4G8TmdheFo

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) September 2, 2023

Supreme Court’s Position

The Supreme Court on Friday termed hate speech as a serious offence that can affect the secularism of India. It has also directed states and union territories to register cases over hate speech even in the absence of any formal complaint.
While doing so, the top court extended the scope of its own order of 2022. The comments were made when the Supreme Court was hearing a bunch of cases related to inaction by states to address instances of hate speech.
It warned that delay in registering hate speech cases would result in contempt of court.

“We further make it clear that such action be taken irrespective of the religion of the maker of the speech so that the secular character of Bharat as envisaged by the Preamble is preserved,” the bench today said in its order.
The Supreme Court’s order for suo motu registration of FIR in hate speech dated October 2022 was only passed by the UP, Delhi and Uttarakhand governments.

Justices K M Joseph and B V Nagarathna said last month that cases of hate speech “is happening because the State is impotent, State is powerless, State doesn’t act in time,” and will stop “the moment politics and religion are segregated”.

The petitioners in the case have recommended the appointment of a nodal officer for each state. The bench, on the other hand, said one nodal officer should be appointed in each district.

Penal Provisions Against Hate Speech

The apex court even underlined the specific provisions under which hate speech offenders be booked: Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 505 (public mischief), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).