: The Madras High Court on Tuesday said Perumal Murugan, author of the controversial novel Madhorubhagan should also be impleaded as a petitioner in the case against a peace committee meeting decision.
The Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association president, S.Tamilselvan, had challenged the decision of a peace committee meeting at Namakkal on January 12 organised by the district administration. The decision was that Mr.Perumal Murugan had agreed to issue an unconditional apology, delete the controversial portions from his book and withdraw unsold copies from the market. The association said the author had been forced to give the undertaking. When the matter came up before the Chief Justice S. K. Kaul and Justice M. M. Sundresh, the Chief Justice orally observed that the court was concerned over extra-judicial groups deciding what was right and not and what writers should write. The court also felt that the petitioner, instead of restricting his prayer to setting aside the peace committee decision, could raise the greater issue of threat to freedom of expression. Not approving of the committee meeting, the Chief Justice said the officials should have told the protestors to file complaints.
Pointing out that it would not go by media reports, the Bench said that Mr.Perumal Murugan should be impleaded as a petitioner in the case so that it could know his stand. In its order, the Bench said that the petitioner’s counsel sought adjournment to file an application to implead the author. The court posted the matter for further hearing on January 22.
However, the court declined to grant an interim stay of the operation of the peace committee decision.
