Madras HC initiates suo motu contempt against BJP leader H Raja for remarks against judiciary

The Madras High Court has initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against H Raja, National Secretary of the BJP at Tamil Nadu, taking note of derogatory remarks allegedly made by him against the judiciary during a heated exchange with the Tamil Nadu Police on Saturday..Raja had allegedly made controversial remarks against the High Court during a Vinayaka procession over the weekend. Several Advocates of the High Court made mention of the controversial episode before the Madras High Court today, requesting that the Court initiate suo motu proceedings against Raja..Two Benches of the Court, i.e. the Benches headed by Justices Huluvadi G Ramesh and N Kirubakaran, however, declined to initiate contempt suo motu. Justice Ramesh said that if a contempt petition is filed against Raja, the Court would consider it..However, the Bench of Justices CT Selvam and Nirmal Kumar thereafter took suo motu contempt action against Raja and proceeded to issue notice returnable by four weeks..H Raja’s outburst was triggered when the police attempted to stop him from carrying out a Ganesh Chaturthi procession along a particular route to guard against possible communal clashes in Pudukkottai..In a video that promptly went viral, Raja is reported to have used strong language against the Madras High Court, while also lashing out at the police as being the “most corrupt” and “anti-Hindu”..His remarks have raked up a storm, with advocates as well as politicians of both the AIADMK and the DMK calling for strong legal action against him. The police have also registered a case against Raja, invoking various IPC provisions including pertaining to unlawful assembly, criminal intimidation, disobeying a public servant and public nuisance..However, Raja is reported to have maintained his innocence, claiming that the video has been doctored to target him for fighting for Hindu rights.