The Madras High Court has dismissed a defamation suit filed by a former DMK union chairperson against former AIADMK minister S P Velumani. The plaintiff, A Rajendran, sought 1 crore in damages for Velumani’s alleged defamatory remarks made at a public meeting. Velumani had reportedly linked Rajendran to a sexual harassment incident, which formed the basis of the lawsuit.
Justice C V Karthikeyan, presiding over the case, dismissed the suit, citing several factors that rendered the plaintiff’s claim unreliable. Notably, the court found that Rajendran lacked direct knowledge of Velumani’s alleged statement and had not included individuals who informed him about the speech as witnesses.
Furthermore, the court highlighted that while Rajendran had reported the sexual harassment incident, which occurred on a moving train, in two Tamil dailies, he had not taken any action against the newspapers but focused solely on pursuing the case against Velumani. The judge reasoned that if Rajendran considered the newspaper reports as hearsay evidence, his own statement about Velumani’s remarks also fell into the same category, lacking credibility.
The court also noted that Rajendran had not presented any witnesses to corroborate his claim that Velumani’s statements had damaged his reputation. Consequently, the court found no basis for granting damages to the plaintiff and dismissed the suit. In addition, the court issued a permanent injunction prohibiting Velumani from making the defamatory statement again.
This decision emphasizes the importance of credible evidence and the need for plaintiffs to substantiate their claims in defamation suits. The court’s ruling underscores the principle of fairness and the need for robust evidence to support allegations of defamation.
