Madras high court orders FIR against Ponmudy for vulgar remark, says law is for everybody
The high court has told the state’s advocate general to file a report on the action taken by the police against the minister
CHENNAI: The Madras high court on Thursday ordered the Tamil Nadu police to file a first information report (FIR) against forest minister K Ponmudy for his vulgar comments on women, Shaivites and Vaishnavites.
Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president MK Stalin on April 11 removed Ponmudy from his party post as deputy general secretary following an uproar against his remarks but Ponmudy continues as a minister.
“Don’t register multiple FIRs. Just register one FIR and proceed with it. Law is for everybody. When the government takes others’ hate speeches seriously, the same must be done when a minister himself makes it,” justice Anand Venkatesh said in his oral remarks during its hearing of a 2023 suo moto revision petition against the acquittal of Ponmudy in a disproportionate assets case.
At Thursday’s hearing, the high court called for advocate general PS Raman and pointed to Ponmudy’s speech, saying it was still in public domain and could not be brushed aside though the minister has offered an apology.
The judge told the state’s top law officer to file a report on the action taken by the police against the minister by April 21.
The direction comes days after the minister sought to draw an analogy between a sex worker and Hindu religious symbols associated with Shaivite and Vaishnavite sects. The comments led to a controversy, with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party demanding Ponmudy’s sacking from the cabinet. A purported video of his remarks has been widely shared on social media.
Lok Sabha MP and senior DMK leader K Kanimozhi had also condemned the speech before Stalin’s action.
In December 2023, the high court found Ponmudy guilty in a disproportionate assets case and handed out a four-year prison term, which had led to his immediate disqualification as a MLA and as minister for Tamil Nadu’s higher education. He was inducted back into the state cabinet after the Supreme Court suspended his conviction in March 2024.
