MDMK chief Vaiko.A special court in Chennai on Thursday convicted MDMK chief Vaiko in a 2009 sedition case and sentenced him to a year in jail. Judge J Shanthi also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Vaiko.
The MDMK leader, who was present in the court, said he never sought any leniency. However, immediately after the verdict, a petition was filed to suspend the conviction. The conviction and sentence was subsequently stayed for a month under section 389 of CrPc.
The defamation case dates back to Vaiko’s speech at a book release event in 2009. The case was filed by then DMK government. Police had registered a case under section 124(A) of IPC (sedition) against Vaiko for the speech he made while releasing his book “Naan Kutram Sattugiren,”(I am Making the Accusation) in 2009.
Vaiko is scheduled to file his nomination for the July 18 Rajya Sabha elections tomorrow.
(With PTI inputs)
