Ponraj gets anticipatory bail over remarks on TVK women supporters

The Madras High Court granted anticipatory bail to political commentator V. Ponraj in two criminal cases filed against him for allegedly making derogatory remarks against women supporters of Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay and the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).

Justice R. Sakthivel granted the relief on the condition that the petitioner appears before the Cyber ​​Crime Wing in Chennai twice a week (on Tuesdays and Fridays). The accused was also directed to appear before the Cuddalore police once a week (on Sundays) until further orders.

Apart from these mandatory statements, the court ruled that the defendant must be available for questioning by the police when necessary, must not pose any threat to witnesses, directly or indirectly, and must not tamper with evidence.

He also instructed him to provide his residential address and mobile phone number to the relevant judicial magistrates, in whose presence he was required to sign a surety along with two sureties, and made it clear that the magistrates could take action against him if any of the conditions were violated.

Observing that the purpose of the defendant’s statement was a matter of trial, the judge said that the plaintiff, who claimed to be a respected person in society, should be very careful about his choice of words when giving interviews to YouTube channels.

“In today’s digital age, once a statement is made on a digital platform, it cannot be easily retracted. Even though the petitioner/accused claimed that his statement concerned social interests, he should have exercised extreme care and caution before making a statement that could be morally provocative,” the court said.

However, given that the applicant had deep roots in society and was less likely to escape, the judge decided to release him on conditional bail. He also noted that the YouTube interview, which contained derogatory statements, was also deleted.

The judge directed the petitioner to post a surety of ₹25,000 along with two sureties to the satisfaction of the judicial magistrates to avail the pre-arrest bail solution.