New Delhi: The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea of the Tamil Nadu government seeking two-day police custody of ultra-Left folk singer Kovan, who was granted relief by the Madras High Court in a sedition case.
A bench comprising Justices FMI Kalifulla and U U Lalit did not find any merit in the state government's appeal seeking police custody of Kovan.
The state government had challenged the high court order which had stayed the remand of Kovan to police custody.
54-year-old Kovan, propagandist singer of ultra-Left arts and literary outfit 'Makkal Kalai Ilakkiya Kazhagam', was arrested in Tiruchirapalli on October 30 for alleged sedition, uploading "defamatory" electronic content against Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and "disturbing public peace".
On November 7, the Madras High Court had stayed a local court order remanding Kovan to police custody for two days, saying it was 'erroneous'.
The high court had passed the interim direction at a special hearing on a petition by the singer, challenging Chief Judicial Magistrate Court's November 6 order.
The alleged defamatory content in the form of videos were uploaded on some Tamil websites which had gone viral in messaging mediums like Whatsapp.
The content, though centred around the liquor vending policy of the Tamil Nadu government, allegedly had direct references to Ms Jayalalithaa, showing her in a bad light.
The High Court had said a perusal of the papers revealed that in permitting two-day custody to Kovan, the primary concern of the lower court had been the need to probe any link with the Naxals.
A bench comprising Justices FMI Kalifulla and U U Lalit did not find any merit in the state government's appeal seeking police custody of Kovan.
The state government had challenged the high court order which had stayed the remand of Kovan to police custody.
On November 7, the Madras High Court had stayed a local court order remanding Kovan to police custody for two days, saying it was 'erroneous'.
Advertisement
The alleged defamatory content in the form of videos were uploaded on some Tamil websites which had gone viral in messaging mediums like Whatsapp.
Advertisement
The High Court had said a perusal of the papers revealed that in permitting two-day custody to Kovan, the primary concern of the lower court had been the need to probe any link with the Naxals.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Supreme Court Relief To 30 Army Men In 2021 Botched Nagaland Operation "Bulldozer Can't Be Justice": Akhilesh Yadav On Supreme Court Halting Demolitions "Matter Of Decorum": Supreme Court On Plea Seek Summer Exemption From Black Coat 9 Dead, 2,800 Hurt As Pagers Explode Across Lebanon, Hezbollah Blames Israel 3 Grams Of Explosives Per Pager: Israel's Complex Op To Hurt Hezbollah "Wear Proper Undergarments": Delta Airlines' New Memo For Flight Attendants New XEC Covid Variant Spreads To 27 Countries, Here's What We Know So Far "Only Consequential Presidents Get Shot At": Trump After Assassination Bid Israel On Alert As Hezbollah Vows Retaliation Over Pager Attacks In Lebanon Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.