Alleging that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had filed defamation complaints against opposition leaders because she lacked the courage to respond to their criticism and queries, DMK leader M. Karunanidhi on Sunday said the strong observation of the judges of the Supreme Court on Ms. Jayalalithaa using the public prosecutor to file suits had come as a fitting lesson to her.
In a statement here he had recalled the recent observation of a Bench comprising Chief Justice Deepak Mishra and C. Nagappan, which asked, “Can a Chief Minister use her influence to instigate the Government to issue sanction to initiate criminal defamation proceedings against a political opponent?”
Mr. Karunanidhi said the judges had also asked Ms. Jayalalithaa to personally respond within the next four weeks in connection with a defamation case initiated against DMDK leader Vijayakant in the Dharmapuri district court.
Mr. Karunanidhi said Justice Mishra had remarked that the public prosecutor was not a postman and his office was not a post office while making it clear that a political rival in a democracy, like any other common man, had the right to criticise the government of the day.
It asked whether a CM could use her influence to initiate defamation proceedings against a political opponent
