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File FIR against Ponmudy, Tamil Nadu HC tells police
The judge observed that the video of Ponmudy’s speech is still in public domain and it cannot be brushed aside though the minister has offered an apology
The Madras high court on Thursday directed the Tamil Nadu police to file an FIR against forest minister K Ponmudy for his derogatory comments on women, Shaivites, and Vaishnavites.
Justice Anand Venkatesh called for advocate general PS Raman, during the hearing of a suo moto revision petition taken up in 2023 against the acquittal of Ponmudy from a disproportionate assets case. The judge observed that the video of Ponmudy’s speech is still in public domain and it cannot be brushed aside though the minister has offered an apology. The judge granted the AG time till April 21 to report on the steps taken against the minister by the police, and posted further hearing of the suo motu proceedings to April 23.
“Don’t register multiple FIRs. Just register one FIR and proceed with it. Law is for everybody. When the Govt takes others’ hate speeches seriously, the same must be done when a Minister himself makes it,” the justice said in his oral remarks.
Advocate general P S Raman submitted that the police have received five complaints and that they will investigate and register an FIR. The judge said, “If they don’t register FIR, I will initiate suo motu contempt. Now, the court has taken cognizance of the matter. Even If they do not have a complaint, register a case and proceed with the investigation,” the judge added.
The judge further said that the incriminating video was in the public domain. “We do not know when it will flare up. There was no escape from this.The police need not register multiple FIRs, one FIR was enough,” the judge added.
The court said holding that position, Ponmudy should not have made such remarks. In the future, nobody should do it, he said.
Previously, the Madras High Court had found Ponmudy guilty in December 2023 which had led to his immediate disqualification as a MLA and as minister for Tamil Nadu’s higher education. But, in March 2024, the Supreme Court suspended his conviction and four-year jail sentence in a disproportionate assets (DA) case. Following this, he was inducted again into the Stalin-led cabinet.
Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin had on April 11 removed Ponmudy from his party post as deputy general secretary of the DMK following uproar over his vulgar joke.
While the opposition parties BJP and AIADMK had condemned Ponmudy, criticism against him came from within the party too with Lok Sabha MP and senior DMK leader K Kanimozhi condemning his speech before Stalin’s action. Stalin replaced Ponmudy with MP Trichy Siva in the post but Ponmudy continued as minister.
