The Madras High Court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to disqualified All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MLA P Vetrivel, ANI reported. The court granted the relief in a case filed against Vetrivel for releasing a video purportedly showing late party chief J Jayalalithaa in a hospital bed.
Vetrivel had released the video a day before the RK Nagar bye-poll on December 21. Vetrivel moved the High Court for bail on December 27, arguing that he got the clip from sacked AIADMK leader VK Sasikala. Vetrivel said Sasikala gave the clip to her nephew and expelled party leader TTV Dinakaran, who won the RK Nagar bye-polls, “in February/March 2017”.
Vetrivel alleged that the case had been filed against him with the intent of getting him booked under non-bailable provisions of the Indian Penal Code. The former AIADMK leader also claimed that the complaint was filed “under the instructions of AIADMK ministers, deputy chief minister [O Panneerselvam] and chief minister [Edappadi Palaniswami]”. Vetrivel said that the Commission of Inquiry did not take his statement and its summons did not mention forgery of the video.
The disqualified leader further claimed that the video he released had no connection with the RK Nagar bye-poll. He said he released the footage because the Election Commission failed to take action against pamphlets the AIADMK had distributed in which they blamed Sasikala for Jayalalithaa’s death.
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