Chennai, October 6 (Daily Kiran) : A significant development has emerged in the case involving Gem Granites owner Veeramani, who faces serious allegations of sexual abuse against minors. Tamil Nadu ministers C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar and Adhav Arjun have filed an appeal in the Madras High Court against a ruling that permitted the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party to pursue a defamation lawsuit seeking 1 crore rupees.
The allegations against Veeramani have drawn attention, with both ministers having previously given interviews claiming that the previous DMK government failed to take appropriate action, allowing Veeramani to evade accountability. Additionally, the IT wing of Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) criticized the DMK government on the social media platform X.
In response to these statements, DMK General Secretary and former minister Durai Murugan filed a petition in the Madras High Court, asserting that the ministers’ comments were defamatory and tarnished the party’s reputation. He sought an injunction to prevent Nirmal Kumar, Adhav Arjun, and the TVK IT wing from making further statements regarding the Gem Veeramani case.
Murugan’s petition also demanded 1.01 crore rupees in damages, with a separate request filed for permission to pursue the defamation suit. The petition highlighted that the headquarters of the social media platform is located in the United States, while TVK’s headquarters is in Chengalpattu district.
During the hearing, Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavathi granted the DMK permission to initiate action against Nirmal Kumar, Adhav Arjun, and the TVK IT wing. In light of this ruling, the ministers have now filed their appeal.
Their legal representatives urged the division bench of Justices N. Satish Kumar and G.K. Muthukumaran for an expedited hearing. The judges remarked that if any legal action against the ministers was to proceed, they should have been given prior notice. Since the petition was filed without notice, the judges deemed it not suitable for hearing and instructed the registry not to assign it a case number.
At that time, the attorney representing Durai Murugan assured the court that they would not press for a case number. Accepting this assurance, the judges ordered that the appeal be scheduled for a hearing on October 13.
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