A PIL was filed before the Madaras HC which alleged that the Chidambaram MPmade adverse remarks against women and also that he had misinterpreted Manusmriti which are against the oath he had taken while assuming office as an MP.
The divison bench of court comprising of Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice R Hemalatha, said that Manusmriti is not a statute book but it is to be read only inaparticular manner. It’s a 2, 000 year old text which can be interpreted in ways. The court declined to take up the PIL which pleaded to disqualify VCK leader TholThirumavalavan as a Lok Sabha member. The court also pondered the statutory provision under which the relief should be granted. “What is the infraction of statutory provision? Code of ethics is not statutory, and it cannot be imposed, andThirumavalavan has interpreted Manusmiriti in his own way. What can we do for that? Everyone has freedom of expression,” the court said
To this, advocate R C Paul Kanagaraj, representing petitioner S Kasiramalingam, contended that Manusmriti does not exist but the MP is seeking a ban on the text.
The advocate on behalf of petitioner said that the speech given by Thirumavalavanhas created a situation of unrest among various section and led to disgust for him. Advocated added that Thirumavalavan didn’t only made the speech but also moved on demanding ban on manusmriti in the state.
The court said that, court cannot interfere with anything which is the subject of the state and the court expects the elected members of the state to take this responsibility. The court also added that- “Everyone has freedom of expression. If it goes beyond decency and morality, then the state is bound to take action”. The court dismissed the PIL as withdrawn.
