The Editor of Nakkheeran , Gopal, has filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the police authorities to give effective protection to his life, his family members and employees of the magazine, following the attack on his office here on January 7.
‘Pre-planned attack’
In his petition, Mr.Gopal alleged that around 10 a.m. on Saturday, in a “pre-planned manner” several persons, who, he said, were AIADMK members, assembled in front of the magazine office at Royapettah here and attacked it. He had given a telegraphic and e-mail complaint. A complaint copy was personally submitted to the Zam Bazaar police station. His life and that of his employees were in danger. His property was likely to be destroyed totally. Hence, the High Court should intervene and issue the direction to the authorities. The matter is likely to come up for hearing on Tuesday.
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Meanwhile, the Advocate-General, A.Navaneethakrishnan, on Monday made a mention before the First Bench comprising Chief Justice M.Y.Eqbal and Justice K.B.K.Vasuki that he proposed to file a contempt petition against Mr.Gopal for not obeying an order of the High Court in 2006 regarding publication of matters in the magazine pertaining to the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa.
The joint secretary of the AIADMK's advocates wing, Tiruvallur district, A.Vasudevan, has moved the High Court seeking a direction to the police to register a case against Mr.Gopal for publishing an “objectionable, derogatory and defamatory” article against the Chief Minister in the magazine. The article had been published with an ulterior motive, the petitioner alleged.
The petitioner said he had filed a complaint dated January 7 with the police. But the police did not issue even an acknowledgement for having received the complaint.
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Hence, he was seeking a direction to the police to register a case and investigate the matter. A group of advocates burnt copies of the magazine in front of the High Court on Monday, protesting against the publication of the article.
Advocates' complaint
Nearly 100 advocates have sent a complaint to the Press Council of India, New Delhi, seeking an enquiry and action against Mr. Gopal for carrying an article which is “definitely inflammatory and against the spirit and language to be followed by any law-abiding print medium.”
In the complaint, they said that in the issue of the Tamil bi-weekly which hit the stands on January 7, an article which tarnished the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa's image had been carried.
The story was a totally fictionalised account. To circulate an unfounded news item with a view to tarnishing one's image was totally unacceptable. The magazine continuously published such “false, unverified rumours.”
The contents of the news item were objectionable, the complaint said.