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Tamil Nadu Minister for Energy Resources and Law R. Nirmalkumar, connected Wednesday (June 10, 2026), withdrew a nationalist involvement litigation petition filed by him successful 2023, challenging the constitution of a Fact Check Unit (FCU) by the past Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) authorities nether the enactment of Iyan Karthikeyan.
First Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan permitted him to retreat the plea connected the ground of the petition made by his counsel connected grounds K. Gowtham Kumar who said, the petitioner was not inclined to prosecute the substance successful presumption of the alteration successful circumstances.
Mr. Nirmalkumar had filed the lawsuit erstwhile helium was a subordinate of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Thereafter, helium had shifted allegiance to Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) successful January 2025 and took complaint arsenic a Minister past period aft the enactment assumed powerfulness successful the State pursuant to the 2026 elections.
In his 2023 affidavit, Mr. Nirmalkumar had urged the High Court to state arsenic amerciable and unconstitutional a Government Order issued connected October 6, 2023 for the constitution of the FCU. He feared that the portion would extremity up curbing state of code and look connected each forms of media including societal media.
“The amerciable enactment of the Fact Check Unit is simply a frontal onslaught connected the state of code of the citizens successful general, and the prime of the persons to tally it makes it an effort to curb the opposition,” the affidavit filed by Mr. Nirmalkumar, during his tenure arsenic the Information Technology helping associated caput of AIADMK, read.
Highlighting that the Tamil Nadu constabulary section had already constituted a societal media monitoring compartment to support a tab connected mendacious messages being circulated successful the mean with the intent of disturbing nationalist bid and tranquillity, the petitioner had questioned the request for a FCU excessively successful summation to constabulary action.
He had besides raised doubts regarding the competence of the State authorities to represent the FCU successful the airy of the provisions of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which were besides nether situation earlier the courts of instrumentality crossed the country.
