Sanatana Dharma Remarks Amount to Hate Speech: Madras HC While Quashing FIR Against BJP’s Amit Malviya

Madras, Jan 21 : The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has quashed the FIR registered against BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya in connection with his social media post criticising Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks on Sanatana Dharma.

Allowing Malviya’s petition, Justice S Srimathy held that it would be unfair to criminally prosecute a person for reacting to a controversial public speech. The court observed that Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks, delivered at a conference in Chennai in 2023, prima facie amounted to “hate speech”.

The FIR had been lodged by the Tiruchi city police after Malviya accused the DMK leader of calling for the “genocide” of followers of Sanatana Dharma. Malviya had shared and criticised Stalin’s speech, in which the minister compared Sanatana Dharma to diseases such as malaria and dengue, stating that it should be “eradicated” rather than merely opposed.

Justice Srimathy noted that the speech must be examined in its entirety and drew a distinction between opposing an ideology and calling for its elimination. The court pointed out that the Tamil expression used by Udhayanidhi was “Sanatana ozhippu” (eradication of Sanatana), and not “Sanatana ethirppu” (opposition to Sanatana).

The judge remarked that such language went beyond criticism and entered the realm of hate speech, adding that reacting to such statements could not be construed as a criminal offence. Accordingly, the court set aside the FIR against Malviya.