Chennai, March 20 (IANS) The Madras High Court on Thursday granted bail to a man accused of throwing mud at Tamil Nadu Forest Minister K. Ponmudy during his visit to cyclone-hit areas in Villupuram.
Justice Sunder Mohan granted bail to the accused, Ramakrishnan from Iruvelpattu village in Villupuram, disposing of his bail petition.
Advocate A. Ashvathaman, representing Ramakrishnan, argued that the case against his client was fabricated. He pointed out that his client had been in custody for more than 20 days, despite the maximum punishment for the alleged offence being less than two years.
The advocate further contended that an arrest was unnecessary for such a minor charge.
The incident occurred on December 3, when Minister Ponmudy, accompanied by his son and Kallakurichi MP Gautham Sigamani, along with district officials, was visiting areas affected by Cyclone Fengal in Villupuram.
As the minister arrived at Iruvelpattu village, hundreds of residents staged a protest, accusing the government of failing to provide relief and rehabilitation. During the visit, as the minister attempted to console the protesters, unidentified individuals allegedly threw mud at him and other officials.
A video of the incident soon went viral on social media, sparking widespread political debate.
Earlier, the Madras High Court had refused to grant anticipatory bail to Ramakrishnan, citing allegations that the incident had political motivations. Justice A.D. Jagadish Chandira had dismissed the plea after Government Advocate (Criminal Side) S. Santhosh argued that even the district Collector was not spared during the chaos.
The incident escalated further when area residents blocked the Tiruchi-Chennai National Highway in protest, demanding immediate relief measures.
Following the attack on the minister, Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai took to social media platform X to criticise the state government.
The case had drawn sharp reactions from both political camps, with opposition leaders using the incident to highlight alleged government negligence in disaster relief efforts.
–IANS
aal/vd
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
