HC quashes FIR against cartoonist Bala
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The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has quashed the felony proceedings against cartoonist G. Bala that was instituted in 2017.
The cartoonist had been booked on expenses of allegedly defaming then Chief Minister [Edappadi K. Palaniswami], the Tirunelveli Collector and the Police Commissioner in a caricature drawn by him following the usury associated self immolation of a household in Tirunelveli.
Justice G. Ilangovan noticed that there was no criminality concerned within the cartoon drawn by the cartoonist and quashed the primary info report registered against him by the Tirunelveli police primarily based on the grievance by the then Tirunelveli Collector. The courtroom noticed that the petitioner wished to specific his anger, grief and criticism.
The courtroom mentioned that he wished to specific his anger on the lack of the administration in containing the gathering of exorbitant curiosity by cash lenders. This can’t be construed as an intention to defame, the courtroom mentioned. The incident claimed the lives of 4 individuals in on the premises of the Tirunelveli Collectorate.
The caricature doesn’t comprise any criminality. But, moral questions could contain. The courtroom can not train ethicality to individuals. It was for society to evolve and observe moral requirements. In a democratic nation, freedom of thought, expressions and speech are the foundations upon which democracy survives, the decide mentioned.
But on the similar time it has its personal limitations. It just isn’t boundless and whether or not a selected criticism by cartoonists was nicely inside bounds needs to be determined solely within the context of the actual subject. The context is the figuring out issue. Words spoken and cartoon drawn if taken away from the context, it would lose its soul and life, the decide mentioned.
In 2017, a labourer set himself and his household ablaze on the Tirunelveli Collectorate. He had submitted repeated submission to the Collector on the harassment by a cash lender. After cartoonist Mr. Bala drew the caricature in criticism of the authorities, Tirunelveli police registered the FIR. The courtroom quashed the FIR.
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