HC extends protection for DMK MPs till June 10

The Madras High Court on Friday extended till June 10 an interim order passed by it last week directing the police not to take any coercive action against Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Members of Parliament T.R. Baalu and Dayanidhi Maran in a case booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989.

Justice M. Nirmal Kumar extended the relief after clubbing all cases filed by the two MPs to quash the First Information Reports booked against them. In his petition, Mr. Maran said, he had unintentionally used the word Thazhthapattavargal (a reference to the Scheduled Castes) instead of Thaazhvaga (lowly) while addressing the press on May 13.

Then, he was complaining to the press about alleged ill-treatment meted out to DMK MPs by Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam when they met them with regard to COVID-19 relief activities. This led to filing of multiple FIRs against the two MPs on the basis of complaints lodged by many individuals and hence they had approached the court to quash those cases.