Overview

• The Madras High Court has registered suo motu proceedings against Tamil Nadu Forest Minister K. Ponmudy for remarks deemed hate speech targeting Saivites, Vaishnavites, and women.
• Justice N. Anand Venkatesh criticized Ponmudy for misusing the interim protection granted by the Supreme Court in a separate corruption case to continue making offensive statements.
• Despite receiving multiple complaints, Tamil Nadu Police failed to file an FIR against the minister, prompting the court’s intervention and referral of the matter to the Chief Justice.
• The controversial remarks, captured in a viral video, compared religious symbols to sexual positions, which the court found obscene and harmful to communal harmony.
• The High Court emphasized zero tolerance for hate speech by public officials and reiterated the need for law enforcement to uphold constitutional obligations.