The Madras High Court Wednesday decided against issuing a writ of quo warranto against Tamil Nadu Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister P K Sekarbabu, and Nilgiris Member of Parliament A Raja over their remarks on Sanatana Dharma. Justice Anita Sumanth presided over the matter, emphasising that the petitions were premature as multiple FIRs related to the issue are still under police investigation with no convictions till date. The court's refusal to issue the writ of quo warranto means that the ministers and the MP will not be removed from their offices based on allegations against them. But Justice Sumanth made critical observations about their statements concerning Sanatana Dharma, describing them as "perverse and divisive" and against the constitutional mandate. Such remarks, the judge said, were not only contrary to the principles of constitutionalism but also amounted to spreading gross disinformation by equating Sanatana Dharma with diseases like HIV, AIDS, dengue, and malaria, which she stated should be eradicated. Justice Sumanth underscored the expectation that ideological differences among those in power should be based on a thorough understanding of the critiqued system and that criticism should be constructive rather than destructive. She said constitutional morality should guide the conduct of individuals holding public office, and insisted that their statements must be factually accurate and in adherence to the morality propounded by the Constitution. “While there may be ideological differences between persons holding power, the differences are expected to be based on a thorough understanding of the system being critiqued and importantly, such criticism must be constructive and not destructive,” the judge said. Though it was argued that only Udhayanidhi and Raja had spoken against Sanatana Dharma in different events whereas Sekarbabu had only attended one of those events, the judge said: “The factum of participation itself shows the endorsement of the purpose of the theme of the conference… The statements equating Sanatana Dharma to HIV, AIDS, dengue and malaria, which need to be eradicated, are perverse, divisive and contrary to Constitutional principles and ideas and tantamount to gross disinformation.” The petitions were filed by Hindu Munnani office-bearers T Manohar, J Kishore Kumar, and V P Jayakumar in their individual capacities, alleging that the actions of the legislators and the MP were against Sanatana Dharma, which could be equated to Hinduism, and thus, could not continue in their legislative roles. Particularly, Udhayanidhi's call for the annihilation of Sanatana Dharma during a conference organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Artists Association in Chennai was a central point of contention. The latest ruling from the Madras HC comes in the wake of the Supreme Court's critique of Udhayanidhi for his remarks on Sanatana Dharma, questioning the appropriateness of his approach to the top court after making such statements.
