Proceed against Kamal Haasan if offence is made out: Madras HC tells police

CHENNAI: IF a prima facie offence is made out, police can proceed against actor Kamal Haasan for his utterances with regard to use of ‘Nilavembu’, a herbal drink, which is believed to be an effective medicine to check dengue, the Madras High Court has said.

Justice M S Ramesh made the oral observation while entertaining a writ petition from an advocate-clerk, a PIL activist, on Wednesday. According to petitioner, Kamal Haasan had tweeted asking his fans to desist from distributing Nilavembu claiming that it had side effects.

It was not clear on what basis he concluded that the herbal drink had side effects. Whether the actor himself consumed Nilavembu and suffered any such adverse side effect? If so, he should have furnished the details of such effects while making such a statement, petitioner said.

The actor was making such statements with political motives against the government and to disturb peace in the State, petitioner alleged.