Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking quashing of three criminal defamation complaints filed against him by the Tamil Nadu government at the instance of the former Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa.
In his writ petition, Dr. Swamy challenged the constitutional validity of Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (relating to criminal defamation), contending that these provisions violated the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution on freedom of speech and expression.
He said “these provisions are a throwback to an earlier repressive British regime and they run counter to the international benchmarks on freedom, particularly of the media.”
Dr. Swamy said the Tamil Nadu government, at the instance of Ms. Jayalalithaa, had resorted to these provisions by filing hundreds of criminal cases against citizens, members of the public and more particularly members of the Press to suppress their fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression and to muzzle dissent against the rulers and public criticism of their misdeeds.
Referring to the complaints against him, he said they were used to cause enormous harassment to him.
Published - October 09, 2014 02:10 am IST
