Supreme Court Dismisses Defamation Lawsuit Against Union Minister L. Murugan
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New Delhi, Dec 5 (NationPress) The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a defamation lawsuit against Union Minister and former Tamil Nadu BJP head, L. Murugan.
The lawsuit was initiated by the Murasoli Trust in January 2021 against Murugan, who is the Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, due to comments he made regarding the title of the trust's property while serving as the President of the BJP's Tamil Nadu unit.
A Bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan decided to terminate the proceedings after the complainant trust indicated that it no longer wished to pursue the case, especially after Murugan clarified that he did not intend to damage anyone’s reputation.
It is important to note that a special court had initially acknowledged the complaint from the Murasoli Trust and had issued summons for Murugan’s personal appearance.
Subsequently, Murugan filed a petition with the Madras High Court seeking a temporary stay on the ongoing proceedings in the special court.
In its contested ruling, the Madras High Court stated that while addressing a petition under Section 482 CrPC, it cannot evaluate the merits of the case or the disputed factual questions.
After reviewing the complaint and the evidence presented, a Bench led by Justice N Anand Venkatesh was initially convinced that the first element of the defamation charge had been met by the accusation against Murugan.
The Madras High Court dismissed Murugan’s petition and mandated that the trial be completed within three months.
“The petitioner (Murugan) is allowed to present all arguments before the trial court, which will consider them based on their merits and according to the law,” instructed the Justice Venkatesh-led Bench, specifying that any observations in this ruling will not influence the trial proceedings.
