Against the backdrop of the Supreme Court disapproval of a slew of defamation cases filed by the State against its critics, the CPI (M) on Thursday called for the withdrawal of defamation cases filed by the Tamil Nadu government.
In a statement issued here, the party’s State secretary G. Ramakrishnan, recalled how in 1987, the then MGR Government had lost the case filed by Ananda Vikatan editor challenging the decision of the Tamil Nadu Assembly sentencing him to three months’ imprisonment for carrying a cartoon lampooning elected representatives. Referring to the Supreme Court’s strong observations on Wednesday, Mr. Ramakrishnan, who too faces a defamation suit, called the government’s filing of cases a misuse of the law.
