CHENNAI: DMK platform speaker J Sivaji Krishnamoorthy has been sentenced to imprisonment for two years for making obscene and derogatory remarks against Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi and several political leaders during a public meeting in 2023.
On Thursday, the 10th metropolitan magistrate in Egmore, P Revathi, found Sivaji, 65, guilty. Beside the jail term, the court imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on him.
The case stemmed from a public meeting organised by the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam at Krishnamoorthy Hall in Erukkancheri on June 16, 2023. In his speech, Sivaji Krishnamoorthy used abusive and derogatory language while referring to the governor, actor-turned-politician Khushbu Sundar, Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami, former BJP state president K Annamalai and former minister D Jayakumar.
The Kodungaiyur police booked him under sections 294(b) (uttering obscenity), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) and 505(2) (promoting ill will between groups) of the Indian Penal Code and arrested him in June 2023.
According to the chargesheet, the remarks were capable of disturbing public tranquillity, spreading fear among citizens and provoking enmity between communities divided along religion, caste and language lines.
The counsel representing Sivaji maintained that police had foisted a false case. However, the magistrate stated that the court had carefully examined the video submissions and found it clear that the accused had made an objectionable speech in a public stage in a manner that would disturb public order and create enmity between groups.
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Selvaraj Arunachalam, widely known as Crime Selvaraj, is a vetera...
Read MoreSelvaraj Arunachalam, widely known as Crime Selvaraj, is a veteran journalist with over 31 years of experience in crime reporting across leading Tamil and English newspapers. He has covered historic events, including the deaths of former Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers Jayalalithaa and M. Karunanidhi, the IPL betting scam, and the Kanchi Seer Sankararaman murder case. A familiar face in the digital space, he has given more than 500 interviews across 30 YouTube channels, with millions of views on social media. He has also featured in international documentaries on Netflix and Bloomberg, speaking on high-profile cases such as idol smuggler Subhash Kapoor and conman Sukesh Chandrasekar. Beyond journalism, he has acted in three films including the Tamil movie DNA, trained over 200 budding journalists, directed short films, and authored the English crime-poetry collection Chilled Love. His contributions have earned him the TOI Scribe Award and the Humanitarian Award from former Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan.
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