Actor Vishal appeared before the Madras High Court on Friday in a contempt of court application filed against him by actor Radha Ravi for having reportedly removed him from the primary membership of the Nadigar Sangam) in violation of an undertaking given to the court.
Justice M.M. Sundresh recorded his presence and dispensed with his appearance during the future hearings of the case, which was adjourned to January 18 at the request of Mr. Vishal’s counsel Krishna Ravindran.
It was on December 12 that the judge had summoned the actor since he had been asking for repeated adjournments.
In an affidavit filed in support of the contempt application, Mr. Ravi said the artistes’ association was founded in 1952 and that he had been a member of it for the last 34 years. He held the post of president for 14 years between 1986 and 2000 and that of the secretary for nine years, besides having been an executive committee member for six more years. He claimed to have reduced the financial burden of the association to a great extent.
However, after a new set of office-bearers took charge of the association under the leadership of Mr. Vishal on October 18, 2015, a show cause notice was issued to the contempt applicant on March 16, 2016, accusing him of having misappropriated the funds of a trust linked to the association. Mr. Ravi sent a written reply on April 2, 2016, denying the allegations. Nevertheless, his membership was suspended on September 11, 2016. Immediately, a civil suit was filed in the High Court to declare the suspension as null and void and restrain the association from taking punitive action against him without following due procedures of law and affording an opportunity of personal hearing.
The suit also insisted on issuing a permanent injunction restraining the association and its office-bearers from making any reports to the media “tarnishing the fair name and reputation of the plaintiff (Mr. Ravi).”
