Sanatana Dharma row: Bengaluru court grants bail to Udayanidhi Stalin

A special court in Bengaluru on Tuesday granted bail to Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin in the case against him for his controversial remarks on Sanatana Dharma..Special Magistrate KN Shivakumar directed Stalin to deposit ₹5,000 in cash as surety and a personal bond of ₹50,000 for bail..Stalin is presently facing cases in different states over his comment that,“Just like dengue, mosquitoes, malaria, or coronavirus need to be eradicated, we have to eradicate Sanatana."He made the remarks in September 2023 during a conference organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Artists Association in Chennai.On May 10, the Supreme Court issued notice to multiple state governments and complainants on the plea filed by Stalin seeking to club the criminal cases registered against him in different parts of the country and try it as a single FIR. .Days after the speech, 262 persons including 14 retired High Court judges had written a letter urging the Supreme Court to take suo motu action against Stalin for his controversial comments.Weeks later, a plea was filed before the Supreme Court seeking the registration of a criminal case against Stalin.Meanwhile, a trial court in Bengaluru ordered the registration of an FIR against Stalin for his remarks. A Jammu court also ordered an enquiry after a litigant filed a criminal complaint.A plea was filed before the Madras High Court as well to remove Stalin from his position as a Minister. Before the High Court, Stalin said that his statement was not against Hinduism or the Hindu way of life, but was merely a call for ending caste-based discriminatory practices.The High Court eventually declined to pass any direction to remove Stalin from his post but criticised him for his remarks. It said that the comments were “divisive” and against Constitutional principles.