An FIR registered against Tamil filmmaker Pa Ranjith for his remarks on King Raja Raja Cholan during a speech in 2019, was quashed on Friday by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court.
The case dates back to June 5, 2019, when Ranjith delivered a speech at an event organised by the Blue Tigers Party (Neela Puligal Iyakkam) to commemorate the death anniversary of its founder Umar Farooq at Thiruppanandal near Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu. In his speech, the filmmaker made remarks on how the landless, marginalised people were treated during the reign of Raja Raja Cholan in the Delta region of the state.
His speech triggered a row and a case was booked against Ranjith by the Thiruppanandal police based on a complaint filed by Hindu Makkal Katchi leader Ka Bala. The police also held 32 agitators belonging to different Hindu groups for staging demonstrations at the time.
Ranjith had applied for an anticipatory bail plea soon after he was booked by the police, on the grounds that his speech was based on published research and was not intended to create enmity. The Madras High Court granted him bail on condition that he would not make any controversial statements thereafter.
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The filmmaker later filed a petition seeking to quash the FIR against him.
In his petition, Ranjith had said, “During a public meeting on June 5, 2019, I had mentioned some historical facts about King Rajaraja Chola. Quoting Umar Farooq’s book Sentamizh Nadu, I had spoken how landless people, especially in the Delta region, were treated during the Chola period. My statement was misinterpreted on social media platforms and this is not against any community.”
After the filmmaker’s statement was filed, Justice G Ilangovan, who heard the case, quashed the FIR registered against Ranjith.