Madurai, Feb 10 (Agency) The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday quashed a private complaint pending against YouTuber Maridhas in Thoothukudi Judicial Magistrate-III Court for ridiculing an anti-CAA ‘kolam’ (rangoli) protest staged by the DMK at Chennai. Justice G.R.Swaminathan allowed the petition filed by Maridhas and quashed the private complaint against him on the file of the Thoothukudi JM III court. The complaint was filed by a DMK functionary S.R.S.Umari Shankar of Thoothukudi, who stated that Maridhas posted a video in his YouTube channel on January 3,2020, making remarks against DMK over the anti-CAA kolam protest in Chennai.
He contended that the YouTuber had tarnished the image and reputation of the DMK in the video. Maridhas had denied the allegations and said the members of few political parties and organisations which lacked faith in democratic values were constantly abusing him and deliberately foisting cases against him for raising social awareness. The private complaint was one such attempt to stifle his voice, he said. It may be recalled that the Madras HC Bench on December 14, last quashed the FIR registered against him by Madurai City Cyber Crime Police for posting a tweet that questioned whether Tamil Nadu was turning into another Kashmir under the DMK rule. The Court also quashed another FIR against Maridhas by Tirunelveli district police on December 24, last for a video post insinuating ‘Tablighi Jamaat’ for the spread of Coronavirus in the country and stoking communal violence.