Court grants Madurai Adheenam anticipatory bail

Chennai: Noting that the statements made by Madurai Adheenam, regarding an alleged attempt to murder him with the involvement of Pakistan, are prima facie not hate speech, Chennai principal sessions court granted him conditional anticipatory bail on Saturday."Though the statements made by the Adheenam were exaggerated, they do not prima facie show any intention to spread communal hatred," principal sessions judge S Karthikeyan said. "It is sorry to record that it is the media person who repeatedly raised several questions and obtained certain answers from the Adheenam, which later became controversial," he said.The court then directed Chennai Crime Branch police to release him on bail in the event of arrest or upon his appearance. Since the Adheenam is above 60 years of age, he shall not be required to attend an inquiry at any place other than where he ordinarily resides, the court added.On May 2, the Adheenam said that while he was travelling by car to attend a Saiva Siddhanta conference, another car collided with his vehicle near Ulundurpet-Salem roundabout and fled the scene. Later at a news conference, he said that there was a conspiracy to murder him, suggesting links to Pakistan. He further alleged that the individuals in the vehicle that struck his car were wearing caps worn by Muslim men and had beards. These statements went viral on social media. CCTV footage and police investigation, however, revealed that the Adheenam's car was overspeeding, and the other vehicle did stop after the collision.However, aggrieved by his speech, advocate Rajendran from Chennai filed a complaint with cybercrime police, saying that the Adheenam's remarks could incite confusion and conflict between religious communities. Based on the complaint, a case was registered against the Adheenam. Following this, the Adheenam filed an anticipatory bail petition.