The Madras High Court on Thursday ordered notice to Perumal Murugan, author of the controversial novel Madhorubhagan, to respond to a petition seeking to implead him as another petitioner in the case against the Namakkal peace committee’s decision of January 12.
The First Bench consisting of Chief Justice S.K. Kaul and Justice M.M. Sundresh ordered that the notice would be returnable by February 9.
The court was passing further orders on a public interest litigation petition by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association seeking to declare as “null and void” the decision of the peace committee meeting.
At the meeting, Mr. Murugan, who belonged to Tiruchengode, agreed to issue an unconditional apology and delete the controversial portions in the book. The association said the author was forced to give the undertaking.
Earlier, the court had ordered that the author should also be impleaded as a petitioner so that it could hear his stand in the matter. Accordingly, the association filed the impleading application. Following this, the court ordered notice to the author.
Meanwhile, advocate T. Lajapathi Roy of Madurai filed a petition through counsel U. Nirmala Rani stating that the peace committee decision was “crude, unauthorised and State-sponsored censorship” on the right of freedom of expression. The advocate had cited Mr. Murugan as a respondent.
The Bench ordered that this petitioner also could file an application seeking to make Mr. Murugan the second petitioner.
The court said, in its view, the author could choose which petition he would prosecute.
Counsel who represented the people of Tiruchengode said the police had now registered a case against the author. If only they had acted earlier, the present situation would not have arisen.
