Madras High Court acquits BJP leader H. Raja in two criminal cases
Madras High Court sets aside conviction and six-month jail term for BJP leader H. Raja in two cases linked to 2018 tweets.
The Madras High Court on Tuesday allowed criminal appeals filed by BJP leader H. Raja, setting aside his conviction and the six-month simple imprisonment imposed by a trial court in December 2024. Justice V. Lakshminarayanan accepted the arguments of senior counsel N. Ananthapadmanabhan that the conviction and sentences could not be sustained.
The first case stemmed from a tweet posted on April 18, 2018, which contained offensive remarks with a veiled reference to former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and his daughter Kanimozhi, then a Rajya Sabha member. The Erode Town Police registered the case under Sections 153, 504, and 509 of the Indian Penal Code. The trial court, after examining witnesses including the complainant, former DMK Minister P. Selvaraj, found Raja guilty on all three charges, with sentences to run concurrently.
The trial court had observed that the remarks were highly provocative and could disturb public peace, adding that such venomous messages cannot be accepted in a society governed by the rule of law.
The second case related to a March 6, 2018 tweet supporting the demolition of a statue of rationalist leader Thanthai Periyar. Multiple FIRs were clubbed together for a combined trial, and Raja was convicted under Sections 153 and 504 of the IPC. The trial court noted that Periyar was a well-known social reformer whose ideology had created social awareness, and that comments intending to degrade him would provoke his followers.