The Tamil Nadu police informed the Madras High Court on Friday, August 22, that all complaints filed against former Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) minister K Ponmudy have been closed as no prima facie case was found to warrant the registration of a first information report (FIR). The complaints were related to Ponmudy’s remarks on Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and women during a public meeting.
Appearing for the police, Advocate-General PS Raman told the court that the closure was communicated to all complainants, in compliance with the law. He added that some complainants had approached jurisdictional magistrate courts with private petitions.
Hearing the suo motu petition initiated over the non-registration of an FIR, Justice N Sathish Kumar asked the police to explain how it concluded that no prima facie case existed against Ponmudy. Raman clarified that the minister had merely recalled a speech delivered in 1972, and the content was not originally his.
Directing the police to produce both the full video of Ponmudy’s April 6 speech and the 1972 speech he referred to, Justice Kumar remarked, “If he was just reflecting what was spoken in the 1972 meeting, then the police may be right in closing the complaints. However, the speed shown by the officials in this matter is required in all other complaints too.” The hearing was adjourned to August 28.
The matter stems from earlier directions by Justice N Anand Venkatesh, who on April 17 had ordered the police to register an FIR against Ponmudy, warning that the “law is for everybody” and the government must apply the same yardstick to ministers as to others accused of hate speech. The controversy erupted after a video surfaced of Ponmudy making vulgar and derogatory remarks about Shaivism and Vaishnavism, drawing sharp criticism even from within his party.
DMK MP Kanimozhi condemned the comments as “vulgar and unacceptable”. Chief Minister M K Stalin subsequently announced Ponmudy’s removal as the party’s deputy general secretary. This episode added to a series of controversies surrounding the minister, including past remarks against Hindi-speaking migrants.