Madras HC orders man to buy Thirukkural books for students as punishment for contempt

This is not the first time a court has decided to give orders that supposedly ‘aid reformation’.
Madras HC orders man to buy Thirukkural books for students as punishment for contempt
Madras HC orders man to buy Thirukkural books for students as punishment for contempt
Written by:

In yet another case of a bizarre order from a judge, the Madras High Court on Wednesday ordered a man convicted of contempt of court to buy and distribute 'Thirukkural' books to 50 students. The directives were issued by Justice S Vaidyanathan, reports TNIE.

According to reports, the accused D Muthu had assaulted a person, who died months later after prolonged treatment in the hospital. The charge against him was that he filed a second anticipatory bail application and obtained bail by suppressing the fact of his having filed the first petition, which had been pending before the court. He later withdrew the first petition, which had been pending before court. 

Justice Vaidyanathan reportedly found the allegation against Muthu to be true. He had indeed committed contempt of court. The judge said that he would have to pay a fine of Rs.2500, failing which he will be directed to undergo simple imprisonment for two days.  

The court, according to the report, could have chosen to imprison him to send a message but instead the judge chose a punishment aimed at reformation. The judge said, "To give him an opportunity to correct himself, to admonish him, the court, instead of directing the accused to pay costs, was directing Muthu to buy and distribute Thirukkural books with short meanings in Tamil to 50 students of two schools in his area within a month."

This is not the first time a court has decided to give orders that will aid reformation. Earlier convicts in small crimes have been asked to learn the Thirukkural and even help chop seemai karuvelam trees. 

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com