The Madras High Court has reserved its orders on a petition filed by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) General Secretary Aadhav Arjuna, seeking to cancel a First Information Report (FIR) registered against him for allegedly posting an inflammatory message on social media hinting at a possible "Gen Z revolution" against the Tamil Nadu government.
The FIR was registered by the Chennai Cyber Crime Police under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS 192, 196(1)(b), 197(1)(d), 353(1)(b), and 353(2)), for offences including promoting enmity, inciting violence, and spreading rumours prejudicial to national integrity.
The case stems from Arjuna's posts on X (formerly Twitter) on September 29 and 30, following the stampede during the TVK public meeting in Karur on September 27, where 41 people lost their lives. In those posts, Arjuna had warned that Tamil Nadu could witness a youth uprising similar to movements in countries like Sri Lanka and Nepal, if the government failed to address public anger. He later deleted the posts within 34 minutes.
In his plea, Aadhav Arjuna claimed that the FIR was politically motivated and that his remarks were misinterpreted. His counsel argued that the post did not target any community or religion and did not result in any violence. The defence pointed out that the police registered the FIR nearly 18 hours after the post was deleted.
The prosecution, however, contended that the post had already reached over one lakh users, was capable of provoking unrest, and that police were well within their rights to act.
After hearing both sides, Justice Jagadish Chandra reserved orders without specifying a date for pronouncement.
