CHENNAI: DMK organisational secretary and Rajya Sabha member R S Bharathi was let off on interim bail till June 1 by the principal sessions court, hours after city police arrested him on Saturday.
Condemning the arrest, DMK president M K Stalin said the party could not be cowed by such intimidations. "The AIADMK government has taken up a case after 100 days (after his speech) under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The government has arrested him after he had given an explanation and apologised for what he had spoken. Neither can the chief minister nor the ringmasters remote controlling him divert the DMK's work to uplift SC/STs and social justice," said Stalin.
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, however, denied the allegation and said there was no political intention or interference in Bharathi's arrest. "He has been arrested for his inflammatory speech about a Madras high court judge and it's a police action based on an individual's complaint," he said.
A team of central crime branch personnel picked up Bharathi up from his residence in the early hours of Saturday, in connection with a speech he had delivered at an indoor meeting. He had reportedly remarked that it was due to the Dravidian rule that many from oppressed sections became judges.
Soon after his arrest, a battery of DMK lawyers, including senior counsel P Wilson and N R Elango, who themselves are Rajya Sabha members of the party, rushed to principal sessions judge Selvakumar's residence to pre-empt remanding of Bharathi in judicial custody.
"Though the case was originally registered at the Teynampet police station on May 22, it was transferred to Chennai CCB later. The investigating officer arrested Bharathi immediately without any further probe," they submitted. Bharathi has already approached the Madras HC offering to surrender before the special court for MPs and MLAs if the usual direction to the trial court to consider his bail application on the same day was issued, they added.
Countering the arguments, state public prosecutor A Natarajan said since the case falls under the SC/ST Act, the complainant has to be heard and no order can be passed without hearing him.
Recording the submissions, the sessions judge said a remand could be refused only when there is no prima facie case from the prosecution records. Remanding him till June 5, the judge granted the interim relief with a direction that Bharathi surrender before the court on June 1. The relief was granted on two grounds - pending petition of Bharathi in the HC to quash the FIR, and the fact that his family members are doctors involved in Covid-19 work and therefore, sending him to jail would put other inmates at the risk of infection.
Condemning the arrest, DMK president M K Stalin said the party could not be cowed by such intimidations. "The AIADMK government has taken up a case after 100 days (after his speech) under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The government has arrested him after he had given an explanation and apologised for what he had spoken. Neither can the chief minister nor the ringmasters remote controlling him divert the DMK's work to uplift SC/STs and social justice," said Stalin.
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, however, denied the allegation and said there was no political intention or interference in Bharathi's arrest. "He has been arrested for his inflammatory speech about a Madras high court judge and it's a police action based on an individual's complaint," he said.
A team of central crime branch personnel picked up Bharathi up from his residence in the early hours of Saturday, in connection with a speech he had delivered at an indoor meeting. He had reportedly remarked that it was due to the Dravidian rule that many from oppressed sections became judges.
Soon after his arrest, a battery of DMK lawyers, including senior counsel P Wilson and N R Elango, who themselves are Rajya Sabha members of the party, rushed to principal sessions judge Selvakumar's residence to pre-empt remanding of Bharathi in judicial custody.
"Though the case was originally registered at the Teynampet police station on May 22, it was transferred to Chennai CCB later. The investigating officer arrested Bharathi immediately without any further probe," they submitted. Bharathi has already approached the Madras HC offering to surrender before the special court for MPs and MLAs if the usual direction to the trial court to consider his bail application on the same day was issued, they added.
Countering the arguments, state public prosecutor A Natarajan said since the case falls under the SC/ST Act, the complainant has to be heard and no order can be passed without hearing him.
Recording the submissions, the sessions judge said a remand could be refused only when there is no prima facie case from the prosecution records. Remanding him till June 5, the judge granted the interim relief with a direction that Bharathi surrender before the court on June 1. The relief was granted on two grounds - pending petition of Bharathi in the HC to quash the FIR, and the fact that his family members are doctors involved in Covid-19 work and therefore, sending him to jail would put other inmates at the risk of infection.
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