Supreme Court seeks response from Udhayanidhi Stalin on plea seeking FIR for his remarks on Sanatana Dharma

The Supreme Court on Friday sought the response of Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on a plea seeking registration of a first information report (FIR) against him over his recent remarks on Sanatana Dharma [B Jagannath vs State of Tamil Nadu and Ors.]..A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi was told by the petitioner's advocate that the minister was speaking against an entire faith.When asked the context of the remarks, the advocate stated,"They have called for eradication of a faith, in an institution."Have heard the submission, the Court issued notice but clarified that the plea will not be tagged with other hate speech cases pending before the top court..The top court was hearing plea filed by Tamil Nadu advocate B Jagannath through advocate G Balaji against the remarks made by the DMK leader on Sanatana Dharma at a recent conference in Chennai.The petitioner said that the September 2 conference should be declared unconstitutional for being violative of the right to freedom of religion. It was also prayed that a criminal complaint should be lodged against Udhayanidhi Stalin.The plea also sought an injunction to restrain the Tamil Nadu minister from making such remarks and to prevent the holding of such events in future."One that can understand that if the conference was to eradicate casteism & Varnashrama Dharma then it can be termed as a welcome one. However, it is different especially the tenor and intention of the conference and the manner in which the same was conducted by the organisers was specifically done to spread hatred, venom and abuse and make derogatory statements against Hindus specifically as it is quite obvious that it is the Hindus who practice Sanatanam Dharma Religion," the petitioner's plea stated. The petitioner stressed that the remarks in question hurt sentiments and signal anarchy. The petitioner also sought appointment of a nodal officer to look into such hate speech cases as per Supreme Court orders.The plea before the apex court was settled by Senior Advocate P Valliappan..On a related note, a letter was recently addressed to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud by 262 eminent persons including 14 retired High Court judges seeking suo motu action against Udhayanidhi Stalin for his remarks on Sanatan Dharma.Recently, amidst the ongoing debate over Stalin's comments, the Madras High Court had said that Sanatana Dharma is a set of eternal duties enjoined upon those who follow the Hindu way of life including duties towards nation, parents and Gurus and wondered why such duties should be destroyed..These judges have signed statement urging CJI to act against Udhayanidhi Stalin for remarks on Sanatan Dharma