HC grants advance bail to Bharathiraja

The Madras High Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to film director K. Bharathiraja, 76, in a case booked against him by the Vadapalani police here on the basis of a complaint lodged by a Hindu Makkal Munnani office-bearer for having allegedly termed Lord Ganesha as an “imported God” while addressing a public gathering in January this year.

Justice P. Rajamanickam granted the relief pursuant to a petition filed by the film director stating that the police had registered a First Information Report after more than four months since the complaint was lodged by V.G. Narayanan on January 19. This, he claimed, had been done deliberately as he had been recently criticising the Centre as well as the State government for failing to constitute the Cauvery Management Board.