Madras High Court quashes FIR booked against Aadhav Arjuna for inflammatory tweet

The Madras High Court on Friday quashed a First Information Report (FIR) registered against Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Aadhav Arjuna for an allegedly inflammatory tweet insinuating a revolt against the Tamil Nadu government by youngsters and Gen Z, as had happened in Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Justice A.D. Jagadish Chandira quashed the FIR after observing that the tweet “did not cross the Lakshman rekha so as to fall under the category of hate speech.” He said, the tweet neither incited violence/enmity nor did it vilify any community, but merely expressed dissatisfaction and warned of possible youth led protests.

“The tenor of the tweet can only be construed as one of political dissent reflecting the petitioner’s perception of public discontent, besides social concern over a tragic incident that had resulted in loss of not one or two but 41 lives [in a stampede at TVK president C. Joseph Vijay’s political campaign in Karur on September 27],” he wrote.

Freedom of speech

The essence of the tweet lies in political expression, which constitutes the core of freedom of speech guaranteed under the Constitution. A mere discussion or advocacy, even if unpopular or uncomfortable to those in authority, could not be curtailed, unless it reaches the threshold of incitemet, the judge added.

Agreeing with senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi that his client’s tweet does not, either expressly or by implication, promotes hatred, hostility or enmity against any identifiable section of society, the judge said, the tweet only sought to draw a parallel between public mood in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere.

“Such expression, even if it carries an element of provocation or discontent, can fall only within the permissible limits of the freedom of speech guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and would not tantamount to hate speech,” the judge concluded.

The judge refused to accept the argument of the prosecution that the High Court had in 2023 refused to quash a FIR against actor S.Ve. Shekher even for having shared on Facebook a post written by someone else and therefore, the FIR against Mr. Arjuna too should not be quashed.

“S.Ve. Shekher is a multi-faceted personality and a person of repute and renown in this State, he having carved out a niche in the fields of drama and cinema by his sense of humour and also in the field of politics. On the other hand, the petitioner is only a beginner in politics and ergo, he cannot be equated with a celebrity like S.Ve. Shekher,” Justice Chandira said.

Further, pointing out that Mr. Shekher’s Facebook post was targeted against women journalists, the judge said, the petitoner’s tweet had no target audience. He also took note that the petitioner had edited his midnight tweet within 15 minutes, by removing references to Nepal and Sri Lanka, and deleted the entire tweet within 32 minutes when its viewership was a miniscule percentage of population.