Overview
- The Madras High Court rejected Anitha R. Radhakrishnan’s anticipatory bail petition on Friday, after which Thoothukudi police arrested the senior DMK MLA on charges tied to remarks about Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay.
- Police registered the case under sections 352 and 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for intentional insult likely to provoke breach of peace and statements conducing to public mischief, and a magistrate granted Radhakrishnan bail on personal bond the following day.
- Radhakrishnan said during detention that interrogators pressed him to resign his assembly seat and join the ruling TVK and offered money, a claim TVK ministers have denied and called the legal action routine law enforcement.
- The arrest prompted DMK, AIADMK and BJP delegations to meet Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and submit memoranda alleging horse‑trading, misuse of police to induce defections, and the participation of two private aides in Cabinet deliberations.
- The episode has heightened scrutiny of how the new TVK government uses state institutions, raised anti‑defection and constitutional questions, and sets up possible inquiries by the Governor or further legal and legislative steps to follow.