Individuals with influence on social media have a higher responsibility for their messages and cannot escape consequences by issuing apologies.

JUDGMENT

(Prayer: PETITIONS under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code to call for the records respectively in

(i) C.C.No.154 of 2018 on the file of the Judicial Magistrate No.1, Tirunelveli (Crl.O.P. (MD) No.11494 of 2018);

(ii) C.C.No.223 of 2018 on the file of the Judicial Magistrate No.2, Karur (Crl.O.P.(MD) No.12163 of 2018);

(iii) S.T.C.No.276 of 2018 pending on the file of the Judicial Magistrate, Ambattur (Crl.O.P.No.5099 of 2019); and

(iv) C.C.No.62 of 2019 on the file of the Assistant Sessions Court, Additional Special Court for Trial of Cases relating to MPs and MLAs, Singaravelar Maligai, Chennai-1 (Crl.O.P. No.6211 of 2021)

and quash the same as against the petitioner.)

Common Order

The issue involved in all these criminal original petitions is common and hence, they are taken up together, heard and disposed of by this common order.

2. The brief facts leading to filing of these petitions are stated as hereunder :

(i) The petitioner in all these petitions is a past Member of the Legislative Assembly representing Mylapore Constituency during the years 2006-2011. The petitioner is said to have published/circulated an abusive, derogatory and vulgar comment in his facebook account on 19.4.2018.

(ii) The contents of the objectionable comment are extracted as hereunder :

(iii) Pursuant to that, a complaint came to be given before the Commissioner of Police, Chennai to take action against the petitioner for having posted such a derogatory comment in his facebook account. Accordingly, a first information report was registered in Cr.No.148 of 2018 for offences under Sections 504, 505(1)(c) and 509 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter called the IPC) and Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 2002 on the file of the Inspector of Police, Cyber Crime Cell, Central Crime Branch, Chennai, who is none other than the first respondent in Crl.O.P.No.6211 of 2021. The first information report was investigated by the concerned Inspector of Police and on completion of the investigation, a final report came to be filed before the Assistant Sessions Court, Additional Special Court for Trial of Cases relating to MPs and MLAs, Singaravelar Maligai, Chennai-1 (for short, the Special Court) in C.C.No.62 of 2019 and it has been put to challenge by the petitioner in Crl.O.P.No.6211 of 2021.

(iv) For the same cause of action, private complaints were filed against the petitioner in various parts of Tamil Nadu. The complaint filed before the Judicial Magistrate No.2, Karur, which was taken on file in C.C.No.223 of 2018, has been put to challenge in Crl.O.P.(MD) No.12163 of 2018. The complaint filed before the Judicial Magistrate No.1, Tirunelveli, which was taken on file in C.C.No.154 of 2018, has been challenged in Crl.O.P.(MD) No.11494 of 2018. Similarly, The complaint filed before the Judicial Magistrate, Ambattur, which was taken on file in S.T.C.No.276 of 2018, has been put to challenge in Crl.O.P.No.5099 of 2019.

3. Heard the respective learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, the learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing for the State and the respective learned counsel appearing for the complainants in Crl.O.P.(MD) Nos.11494 and 12163 of 2018 and Crl.O.P.No.5099 of 2019. Though the complainant/second respondent in Crl.O.P.No.6211 of 2021 was served and his name printed in the cause list, he does not choose to appear either in person or through a counsel.

4. The petitioner had taken a stand to the effect that he was not aware of the contents of the message that was sent to him by one Mr.Thirumalai Sa (a) Thirumalai Sadagopan from Bay Area, California, U.S.A., who was the author of the message, that he had merely forwarded the same from his facebook account, that immediately after coming to know of the derogatory remarks contained in the message, he removed the contents within a couple of hours on the same day i.e. 19.4.2018 and that therea