Summons issued to TN CM

A local court has issued summons to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on a petition filed by Congress charging her with contempt of court for calling Sonia Gandhi a foreigner.

A local court has issued summons to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on a petition filed by Congress and DMK activists charging her with committing contempt of court by describing Congress President Sonia Gandhi as a foreigner at election meetings.

HT Image

On the petition filed by MP Chinnadurai, Durairaj, and K Govindasamy of Congress and M Dhanakumar (DMK), the District Munsiff G Kalavathi last evening directed the Chief Minister to appear before the court on June 21, court sources said.

The petitioners contended that Sonia Gandhi had been granted Indian citizenship on April 30, 1983, under section 5(1)(c)of the Indian Citizenship Act, and a full bench of Supreme court upheld her citizenship in 1999. Hence the Chief Minister's description of Sonia Gandhi as "foreigner was not only a violation, but disobedience of court order".

Terming the act "defamatory" under Sec15 of the Contempt of court Act, they also requested the court to refer the matter to the Supreme Court.