Following his arrest on Saturday, July 29, a magistrate court in Tamil Nadu, sent writer and publisher Badri Seshadri to 14 days judicial custody in Trichy central prison over his comments on the Manipur violence. The controversial comments were made by Badri during an interview he gave to Aadhan Tamil YouTube on July 22. In the show, he was talking about the Manipur violence, the roles of Kukis, Meitis, Nagas and the ruling BJP government in the Manipur violence. Many writers and journalists have condemned his arrest and said that arresting someone for criticising the Supreme Court is in violation of freedom of speech. They urged the Tamil Nadu government to release Badri.
Reacting to Badri’s arrest, writer and historian Ramachandra Guha said that “Criticising the Supreme Court or even the CJI is to exercise the freedom of speech the Constitution guarantees us. The TN Government should release Badri Seshadri immediately. The arbitrary or vindictive arrest of writers is wrong, regardless of which party or Government is in power. The defence of intellectual freedoms cannot be conditioned by political partisanship. I urge writers in Tamil Nadu to ask MK Stalin to release Badri Seshadri immediately”.
Criticising the Supreme Court or even the CJI is to exercise the freedom of speech the Constitution guarantees us. The TN Government should release Badri Seshadri immediately. https://t.co/mHyLWOMFXq
— Ramachandra Guha (@Ram_Guha) July 29, 2023
Journalist RK Radhakrishnan in his tweet asked why DMK is so nervous on this matter and urged the government to release Badri. "The arrest of my friend Badri Seshadri is ridiculous. He made derogatory comments about the Chief Justice. As in Justice Swaminathan's case, let the court act by itself", he tweeted.
எனது நண்பர் பத்ரி சேஷாத்ரியின் கைது கேலிக்குரியது மற்றும் முட்டாள்தனமானது. தலைமை நீதிபதியை பற்றி அவர் தரக்குறைவான கருத்துக்களை தெரிவித்தார். நீதியரசர் சுவாமிநாதன் வழக்கைப் போலவே, நீதிமன்றமே அதை எடுத்துக் கொள்ளட்டும்.
— RadhakrishnanRK (@RKRadhakrishn) July 29, 2023
திமுகவுக்கு ஏன் இவ்வளவு பதட்டம்?
அவரை உடனடியாக விடுதலை செய்ய…
Sumanth Raman, a political analyst, on his Twitter handle, asked "Did the CJI or the judiciary raise this issue with the State Govt asking for action to be taken? Or did the State Govt decide to act on its own on behalf of the judiciary?" If it was the latter it is simply shocking. Strongly condemn the arrest of Badri. The attempt to intimidate every dissenting voice will backfire for sure, he added further.
Did the CJI or the judiciary raise this issue with the State Govt asking for action to be taken? Or did the State Govt decide to act on its own on behalf of the judiciary? If it was the latter it is simply shocking. Strongly condemn the arrest of @bseshadri . The attempt to… https://t.co/hanlGdGvoX
— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) July 29, 2023
Earlier on Saturday, Tamil Nadu BJP president, K Annamalai, who has just launched a state-wide yatra criticised the Tamil Nadu government and Tamil Nadu police said, “Corrupted DMK government is relying only on arrests without addressing the views of the common people. Is Tamil Nadu Police's job only to enforce the revenge measures of the DMK government?”
புகழ்பெற்ற பதிப்பாளர், மேடைப் பேச்சாளர் திரு @bseshadri அவர்களை தமிழக காவல்துறை இன்று அதிகாலை கைது செய்துள்ளதை @BJP4TamilNadu வன்மையாகக் கண்டிக்கிறது.
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) July 29, 2023
சாமானிய மக்களின் கருத்துக்களை எதிர்கொள்ள திராணியற்று கைது நடவடிக்கையை மட்டுமே நம்பி இருக்கிறது இந்த ஊழல் திமுக அரசு.
ஊழல்…
In the interview, Badri said that all the problems in Manipur started because of the Manipur High Court’s decision on Scheduled Tribe status to the Meitei community and went on to talk about CJI DY Chandrachud, the Chief Justice of India. He also criticised the Supreme Court’s stand on the matter and asked if a gun could be placed in CJI’s hands and he will be able to ensure peace. Badri was booked under Sections 153 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153 A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony and 505 (Statements conducing to public mischief) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Watch: Violence happening on a daily basis in Manipur - Greeshma Kuthar Journalist Interview