The Madras High Court on Friday (November 7, 2025) reserved orders on a plea by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Aadhav Arjuna to quash a First Information Report (FIR) registered against him for his allegedly inflammatory September 29, 2025 tweet insinuating a revolt against the Tamil Nadu government by the youngsters and Gen Z, as had happened in Sri Lanka and Nepal.
Justice A.D. Jagadish Chandira deferred his verdict after hearing senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi for the petitioner and N.R. Elango, assisted by Additional Public Prosecutor E. Raj Thilak, for the Chennai cybercrime police which had booked the FIR on the basis of a complaint lodged by N. Shanmugham of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar in Chennai on September 30.
Mr. Singhvi said, the intention of his client, a political personality, was only to criticise the State government for crushing dissent and unleashing police brutality against its political opponents. That’s exactly why he had edited the tweet within the first 15 minutes and deleted the references to Nepal and Sri Lanka before deleting the entire tweet within 30 minutes, the counsel added.
However, Mr. Elango said, the references to Nepal and Sri Lanka itself clearly exhibit the intent of the petitioner. Stating that the tweet prima facie appeared to be an attempt to disturb the public tranquility in the State, he said, quashing the FIR in such cases would send a wrong message to others that they could misuse their freedom of speech and liberty and still get away without being prosecuted.
Published – November 08, 2025 01:23 am IST
