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2026 Supreme(Online)(Mad) 48778
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
R.Vijayakumar, J
Edison Raja – Appellant
Versus
State of Tamilnadu – Respondent
Crl.OP.(MD)No.7636 of 2026|Crl.M.P(MD)Nos.8243 & 8244 of 2026|S.T.C.No.3058/2025
For the Appellants/Petitioners: K.Pandi Priya
For the Respondents: B.Arun
The act of raising slogans against political figures during a protest, without causing damage to public property or severe public nuisance, does not constitute an offence under the Indian Penal Code, and continuing prosecution for such peaceful dissent is an abuse of legal process.
Headnote:The proceedings concern an application seeking the quashment of a charge sheet initiated under S. 143 and S. 290 of the Indian Penal Code. The facts involved a group of individuals belonging to a political party assembling and raising slogans against a political rival, which resulted in police intervention. The court determined that the act of expressing political dissent in the form of slogans, absent any damage to public property or persistent disturbance, does not constitute a criminal offense. The core issue was whether the mere assembly and sloganeering constitutes unlawful assembly or public nuisance under the Penal Code. The ratio decidendi emphasizes that the right to express political opposition, provided it remains peaceful and does not obstruct public order or cause damage to property, is protected and does not warrant criminal prosecution. The court held that forcing such proceedings to continue would be an abuse of the process of law. The final outcome is that the criminal proceedings are quashed and the petition is allowed.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. overview of charges regarding unlawful assembly and public nuisance. (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
| 2. court holds that political expression without property damage warrants quashing of criminal proceedings. (Para 4 , 5 , 6 , 7) |
ORDER
The present petition has been filed by the accused persons in S.T.C.No. 3058 of 2025 on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate No.II, Madurai, seeking to quash the charge sheet wherein the petitioners are charged with the offences under Sections 143 and 290 of IPC.
2. A perusal of the charge sheet reveals that the petitioners herein who belong to a political party have unlawfully assembled in a road and raised slogans as against the leader of another political party and caused traffic jam and inconvenience to the general public.
3. According to the learned Counsel appearing for the petitioners, the leader belonging to another political party wanted to damage statute and therefore, they have raised the slogans and immediately they were dispersed by the police officials.
4. I have considered the submissions made on either side and perused the materials available on record.
5. As could be seen from the charge sheet, the members of a political party have assembled and raised slogans as against the leader of another political party. There is no allegation of any damage to public property and they have been dispersed immediately by the police officials. In such circumstances, raising slogans as against the leader of another political party could never be considered to be an offence, especially in the light of the fact that no damage has been caused to the public property.
6. In view of the above said facts, the continuation of the criminal proceedings as against the petitioners would only be an abuse process of law. Hence, the charge sheet in S.T.C.No.3058 of 2025, on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate No.II, Madurai, is hereby quashed.
7. Accordingly, this Criminal Original Petition stands allowed. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petitions are also closed.
04.06.2026
NCC : Yes/No
Index : Yes/No
Internet: Yes/No
RJR
