2 months ago
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All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Rajya Sabha subordinate C.Ve. Shanmugam’s code that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) authorities which had been doling retired currency gifts and different freebies “may adjacent springiness a woman to everyone,” cannot beryllium termed arsenic misogynistic, the Madras High Court held connected Wednesday.
Quashing the proceedings initiated against the Member of Parliament (MP) by the Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women, Justice A.D. Jagadish Chandira said the MP’s code could astatine champion beryllium considered lone arsenic a disapproval of the authorities policies of giving distant freebies and not arsenic a sexist remark aimed astatine demeaning women.
“Having gone done the petitioner’s aforesaid speech, this tribunal is of the considered presumption that the aforesaid cannot be, by immoderate agelong of imagination, construed to beryllium misogynistic successful quality oregon demeaning the womenfolk of the State arsenic contended by the backstage respondents (the complainants),” the justice wrote.
He went connected to state: “Instead, it tin lone beryllium construed arsenic a critique of the argumentation of the authorities giving freebies. Just due to the fact that of the information that the petitioner had stated that on with different commodities, the authorities whitethorn denote adjacent 1 woman escaped to each citizen, it tin nary mode beryllium inferred oregon understood that the petitioner, by his speech, has equated women with commodities fixed by the authorities gratis.”
The justice besides agreed with the MP’s counsel M. Mohamed Riyaz that the enactment initiated by the TNSCW suffered from procedural violations excessively and hence the Director General of Police (DGP) could not beryllium allowed to proceed with the proposal made by the committee for initiating transgression prosecution against the MP.
Justice Chandira pointed retired that the TNSCW Act, 2008 requires the committee to behaviour a elaborate enquiry earlier arriving astatine a prima facie restitution with respect to the complaints received by it and requires each orders and decisions taken by the committee to beryllium authenticated by the Member Secretary.
Further, the Act makes it wide that the word ‘commission’ would not notation to the chairperson unsocial and that it would see the 5 members arsenic well. However, successful the instant case, each proceedings initiated against the MP had been signed lone by the chairperson and not authenticated by the Member Secretary, helium said.
“In specified position of the matter, this tribunal unhesitatingly holds that the proceedings initiated by the Chairperson against the petitioner, including the connection dated November 11, 2025 addressed to the 2nd responsive (DGP), cannot beryllium sustained successful the eyes of law,” the justice wrote.
He besides pointed retired that the TNSCW had not behaviour immoderate enquiry earlier recommending transgression prosecution and it had not adjacent served upon the MP a transcript of the ailment that it had received from All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) State president G. Pramila and caput A. Radhika regarding the speech.
