Noted political commentator and publisher Badri Seshadri was arrested on Saturday for comments he made on a YouTube video that were allegedly critical of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the Supreme Court, over its hearing on a case related to the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur. He was arrested by Perambalur police on charges of "promoting communal enmity."
According to media reports, the arrest was made based on a complaint from a lawyer, Kaviyarasu of Kadur village, who had lodged a complaint at the Kunnam police station in Perambalur district. In an interview on a YouTube channel, Seshadri said, "The Supreme Court has said that if you (government) cannot do anything, we (the court) will. Let's give a gun to Chandrachud and send him there. Let's see if he can restore peace." Further, Seshadri had said, "It's a hilly and complex region and murders will happen there. We can't stop the violence from happening," according to a report by India Today.
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After a horrific video from May 4 surfaced showing two women being paraded naked in Manipur, the Supreme Court of India demanded the government to take necessary action. CJI DY Chandrachud said that he was deeply disturbed by the video and remarked, "We will give a little time for government to take action otherwise we will step in." He further said that using women as an instrument in an area of communal strife is "the grossest of constitutional abuse."
The case against Mr. Seshadri has been registered under sections 153 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153 A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony and 505 1 (b) (with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquility) of the Indian Penal Code, according to a report by The Hindu.
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Tamil Nadu BJP President slams arrest
Meanwhile, state BJP president Annamalai condemned Seshadri's arrest.
"This corrupt DMK government is relying only on arrests without power to address the views of the common people. Is the Tamil Nadu Police's job only to enforce the revenge measures of the corrupt DMK government?" he said in a tweet.
