A Bengaluru court on Tuesday granted bail to Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin in a case related to his remarks calling for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma, reported Live Law.
Sanatana Dharma is a term some people use as a synonym for Hinduism.
At a press conference in Chennai on September 2, Udhayanidhi Stalin, who is the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief MK Stalin, had said that it was akin to dengue and malaria. Hence, he added, it should be annihilated.
On Tuesday, he appeared before the 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate. The court directed him to deposit Rs 5,000 in cash as surety and a personal bond of Rs 50,000 for bail, according to Bar and Bench.
Last year, Udhayanidhi Stalin’s comments triggered a nationwide controversy, with first information reports filed against him in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
A total of 262 individuals, including 14 retired High Court judges, had written a letter to the Supreme Court asking it to take suo motu action against Udhayanidhi Stalin for his remarks. A petition was filed in the top court seeking that a case be registered against him.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also weighed in on the issue, claiming that the Opposition INDIA bloc wants to destroy Sanatana Dharma.
In March, Stalin approached the Supreme Court seeking the consolidation of multiple first-information reports registered against him in different states over his remarks.
The top court, however, criticised him for his remarks, observing that he violated his right to freedom of speech guaranteed under Article 19 of the constitution.
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