The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Case against Karunanidhi adjourned to October 3

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 15, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Case against Karunanidhi adjourned to October 3

Special Correspondent

Accused did not turn up in court

CHENNAI: The case against DMK chief, M. Karunanidhi, for writing an article, which allegedly outraged the religious feelings of Hindus, was on Wednesday adjourned to October 3.

Besides Mr. Karunanidhi, S. Selvam, Editor of Murasoli, in which the article was published, has been cited as accused.

When the case came up in the court of the XVIII Metropolitan Magistrate (MM), Saidapet, who is holding additional charge of XVII MM court, the jurisdictional court, the accused did not turn up. Petitions seeking to dispense with their presence for today's hearing were filed.

The charge sheet against Mr. Karunanidhi is for an offence under Section 295-A (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The case has been posted for hearing arguments on petitions filed by the accused seeking to dispense with their presence in court.

The DMK leader faces a similar charge in connection with his alleged speech at a meeting convened by the Christian community to protest the now repealed legislation banning forcible conversions, at the St.Andrew's Church here on October 24, 2002.

The Egmore police had already filed a charge sheet in a city court against Mr. Karunanidhi for an offence under Sections 295 (A) and 298 (Uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings) IPC.

The charge sheet said Premnath of Mosque Street, Chepauk, preferred a complaint before the XIV Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore, in which he stated that during his speech, Mr. Karunanidhi with "deliberate and malicious intention to outrage the feelings of Hindus" uttered "who is a Hindu? A good man would say the word Hindu means a thief."

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