The Madras High Court on Friday issued notices to Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokesperson Saurav Das and the Union government on a public interest litigation seeking an investigation into his citizenship, identity and background.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan sought responses from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Das and other authorities on the petition filed by businessman R Ganesh Kumar.
The petitioner has also sought directions to block Das's accounts on X and Instagram over allegedly derogatory remarks against the judiciary, including judges of the Supreme Court.
The court issued notices returnable within six weeks and adjourned the matter. It did not make any findings on the allegations raised in the petition.
๐ฃ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐
In his petition, Kumar sought a detailed investigation into Das's nationality, personal background and family details, alleging that the CJP leader had concealed information about his identity.
The petitioner claimed that Das's actual name was Yogesh Sharma and alleged that he had roots in Nepal. He sought an inquiry into whether the journalist had obtained Indian identity documents by suppressing relevant information.
The allegations concerning Das's nationality and identity have not been established by any judicial finding.
Kumar requested that the Union Home Ministry and other authorities examine Das's background, including details concerning his parents, and determine whether his Indian identity documents had been obtained lawfully.
He also sought the cancellation of Das's passport and Aadhaar card if an investigation established grounds for such action.
๐ฃ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐
The petition also accused Das of making objectionable statements against the judiciary through his social media accounts.
Kumar alleged that the journalist had repeatedly made derogatory remarks concerning the Supreme Court and its judges, and sought directions to restrict such statements.
The petitioner requested the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block Das's accounts on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram.
He also sought an order restraining Das from making further allegedly defamatory or disparaging statements against constitutional courts and judges.
The allegations relating to his social media activity remain claims made by the petitioner, and the High Court has not ordered the blocking of the accounts.
๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐
During the hearing, advocate B Jagannath, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that his client had approached the relevant authorities with a complaint on October 7 but had received no response.
He argued that the allegations warranted examination by the authorities and that the absence of action on the earlier representation had prompted Kumar to approach the High Court.
The bench examined documents submitted with the petition and sought clarification on certain particulars relating to Das's identity and addresses.
Besides Das and the Union Home Ministry, the respondents include the Regional Passport Officer, the Unique Identification Authority of India, several Union ministries and representatives of the social media platforms concerned.
The court directed the respondents to file their replies within six weeks, leaving the allegations to be examined during subsequent proceedings.
๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐
Das, an investigative journalist and CJP spokesperson, has been associated with several demonstrations against the Union government, including protests over competitive examination irregularities and the functioning of the Election Commission.
He was among the prominent faces of the agitation seeking the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan following allegations of irregularities in examinations.
More recently, Das and fellow CJP leader Ashutosh Ranka were detained in connection with an October 13 protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
The demonstration concerned demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid allegations surrounding the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The two leaders were subsequently released on October 21 following proceedings related to the protest.
Those proceedings are separate from the citizenship-related petition now before the Madras High Court.
๐ก๐ผ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฒ๐
The High Court's decision to issue notices represents a preliminary procedural step allowing the respondents to place their positions on record.
It does not establish that Das is a foreign national, that his identity documents were obtained improperly or that his statements amounted to any legal violation.
The petition's requests for an investigation, cancellation of documents and restrictions on social media activity remain pending before the court.
The matter is expected to be taken up again after six weeks, when the bench will consider the responses submitted by the Union government, Das and other parties.