The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has quashed the proceedings on the file of the Judicial Magistrate, Valliyoor, against actor-politician Kamal Haasan that were initiated in 2017 following his remarks on The Mahabharata.
Mr. Haasan had referred to the epic when questioned during an interview to a Tamil news channel about the increasing violence against women in the country.
He was said to have told the interviewer that nothing was surprising about the increasing violence against women in a country which revered The Mahabharata, which depicted a woman being used as a collateral in gambling.
Subsequently, a private complaint was filed before the Judicial Magistrate by Aadhinatha Sundaram of Pazhavoor in Tirunelveli district. The complainant said the actor had hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus. Mr. Kamal Haasan filed the petition seeking to quash the private complaint.
Quashing the proceedings initiated against Mr. Kamal Haasan, Justice G. Ilangovan observed that there was nothing in the comments to hurt the religious feelings of anyone. Drawing analogies from epics and literary works was common, the judge said.
There was no intention to insult while answering the query. It should be taken only as a casual communication that took place between the actor and the interviewer. Criticism was part and parcel of free society, the judge observed.
The judge said the complaint was clearly an abuse of the process of the court and was liable to be quashed.
