Just hours after Delhi-based journalist Mathew Samuel addressed the media in Chennai on Wednesday alleging the involvement of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami in the 2017 Kodanad estate heist-cum-murder, the Madras High Court passed a gag order restraining him and six others from talking to the media on the issue. Justice K. Kalayanasundaram also granted an interim injunction restraining the seven individuals from circulating a video clip and other connected materials prepared by them levelling “baseless” allegations against the Chief Minister on social media.
The injunction was granted at the instance of the Chief Minister in his personal capacity. Mr. Palaniswami had moved an urgent defamation suit in the High Court on Wednesday demanding damages of ₹1.1 crore from the seven individuals, including Mr. Samuel’s colleagues Jibin Pulian Godan, Shija Anil, Shivani and Radhakrishnan apart from V. Sayan and C. Valayar Manoj, who were the accused in the case.
In an interim application filed along with the suit, the plaintiff had sought a gag order.
Arguing the case for him, senior counsel Satish Parasaran said his client had no connection whatsoever with the heist-cum-murder.
Reckless allegations
Contending that a campaign had been undertaken to malign the reputation of the Chief Minister when elections were round the corner, the senior counsel said: “A video by this yellow journalist makes reckless allegations. This journalist has no first-hand knowledge at all. He is a busybody who has made the video without any iota of material.”
When the judge wanted to know what exactly was in the video that was submitted in the court in DVD format, the senior counsel said it contained the confession of Sayan and Valayar Manoj that they were the ones involved in the heist-cum-murder.
They also go on to allege that the crime took place at the behest of the plaintiff.
“These two persons are a menace to society. They cannot link someone just like that to a crime. They claim that some dead person (Jayalalithaa’s confidante V.K. Sasikala’s driver Kanagaraj who had reportedly engaged them to commit the crime) told something to them and an irresponsible journalist flashes it on social media,” he said.
Media interviews
Stating that they were also going about giving interviews to various media organisations against the plaintiff, Mr. Parasaran said, “They cannot make somebody guilty by the vicious video and publications.”
