The Principal Sessions Court here on Monday ordered the issuance of summons to DMK president M. Karunanidhi for his appearance in connection with a defamation case filed by State government against him last week.
The criminal complaint related to a news item under the caption of 'Kalaignar Pathilgal’ published in the party organ Murasoli authored by Mr. Karunanidhi. The City Public Prosecutor (CPP) contended that the DMK leader had spoken about the government stopping advertisements to a Tamil daily. The contents of the report were untrue and published without verification.
The complaint stated the article allegedly defamed Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and also sought to punish S. Selvam, Editor, Printer and Publisher of the daily for defamation. After perusing the complaint, G.Chockalingam, Principal Sessions Judge, ordered the issuance of summons to Mr. Karunanidhi and Mr. Selvam for their appearance on October 24.
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Meanwhile, another defamation complaint was filed against PMK founder S.Ramadoss by the government for allegedly criticising the Chief Minister in connection with the recent Marakkanam violence that occurred in April last.