Chennai: The Madras high court has directed the authorities to destroy the seized 1,709 copies of book, written by Pazha Nedumaran, which contains his speech in support of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a banned organisation in India.
Justice M.V.Muralidaran gave the directive while dismissing an appeal from Pazha Nedumaran, challenging an order of a lower court, dismissing his petition seeking return of the books. The judge said the LTTE is a terror group that was behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and was decimated by the Sri Lanka Military in 2009. The Government of India has banned LTTE after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. The Union government has declared LTTE as an unlawful association and the declaration has been periodically extended by the Union government. When LTTE has been declared as unlawful association, if the books were returned to the appellant, naturally, he will circulate the books to general public and there is every possibility of the general public and/or buyer of the books get persuaded by the principles of the banned organization and cause disturbance and threat to the peace and public tranquillity.
“For the foregoing reasons, I am of the view that the trial court after analysing the rival contentions of both side, rightly dismissed the petition filed by the appellant. The order of the I Additional Sessions Judge, City Civil Court, Chennai, is well founded. There is no merit in this appeal and the same is liable to be dismissed”, the judge added and dismissed the appeal.
