Tamil Nadu govt opposes YouTuber Manish Kashyap's plea in SC seeking clubbing of FIRs

New Delhi [India], April 28 : Tamil Nadu government on Friday filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing YouTuber Manish Kashyap's plea seeking clubbing of FIRs registered against him.
The Tamil Nadu government submitted in the apex court that the contention of the accused that there was a complete abuse of the process of law by registering multiple FIRs is not sustainable.
"The due process of law was followed by the respondent police in all the FIRs registered in the State of Tamil Nadu. The registration of multiple FIRS was not done with any political intention nor to suppress the constitutional rights of the petitioner / accused, but with the intention to stop the spread of misinformation and to ensure that the person guilty of such offences do not escape from the clutches of law," the affidavit said.
Tamil Nadu government also said that freedom of speech and expression is not absolute but should be exercised with caution and responsibility. By disturbing public order and national integrity, the petitioner cannot seek shelter under the umbrella of constitutional rights, the state government said.
Tamil Nadu government said the misinformation and rumours would have definitely triggered violence and riots in the state of Tamil Nadu and could have damaged life and property apart from threatening the national integrity beyond repair. Considering that around 10 lakh migrant labourers from all over the country are employed across the state, substantial damage would have been caused to the economy of the country.
It is submitted that considering the damages that have been done across both the states, cases were registered against Manish Kashyap, the Tamil Nadu government said.
The state government, in an affidavit filed through advocate Joseph Aristotle, submitted that all six cases registered in Tamil Nadu are under investigation and is being done in a fair and unbiased manner and in accordance with law.
"Considering that the FIRs have been registered against different offences, the clubbing of FIR will not do any justice for the amount of panic and tension the petitioner/accused has created across the States of Tamil Nadu and Bihar. Investigation in all these cases is proceeding in good speed and the cases will be charge sheeted at the earliest," the Tamil Nadu government said in the affidavit.
The government submitted that the entire police personnel of Tamil Nadu under the guidance of the Director General of Police, worked relentlessly to counter the rumours, misinformation and false propaganda that was circulated in social media.
The court is hearing YouTuber Manish Kashyap's plea challenging the detention order under the National Security Act (NSA) and clubbing of FIRs against him.
Kashyap was represented by lawyers Aditya Singh Deshwal, Abhijeet and Ridam Arora. Kashyap's counsel apprised the court earlier that National Security Act has been imposed against his client.
Manish Kashyap, a Bihar-based journalist said that many false FIRs were registered against him in Bihar and Tamil Nadu at the behest of the present ruling government.
Kashyap sought interim bail and clubbing of all cases in one place. He said that cases against him were filed because he raised the issue of violence against the Bihar-based migrant labourers in Tamil Nadu on social media.
The YouTuber, who was caught for allegedly circulating false and misleading information about purported attacks on migrant labourers working in Tamil Nadu was arrested from Bettiah in Bihar on March 18.
According to the Bihar Police, Kashyap surrendered at Jagdishpur police station in Bettiah while the Bihar Police and Economic Offence Unit (EOU) were in the process of attaching his house.
Kashyap was wanted by Bihar Police and Tamil Nadu Police in a fake news matter of labourers issue in the southern state, according to an official statement issued by the EOU of Bihar Police had said.
Last month, a team from Bihar led by IAS officer Balamurugan visited Tamil Nadu to take stock of the matter. The team visited Tiruppur and met the district administration and police officials to know about the actions taken so far in the case. Officials of the Bihar government also interacted with Bihar-based migrant workers in Chennai.
On March 9, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin attacked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing it of spreading rumours about the attack on migrant labourers. The Chief Minister further said that there are no such incidents in Tamil Nadu and the delegates from Bihar who visited the state returned with full satisfaction.
Stalin had also spoken to his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar and reassured him about the safety of migrant workers.
The alleged assault on migrant labourers from Bihar in Tamil Nadu had stirred massive political unrest in both states. Lok Janshakti Party chief Chirag Paswan had attacked the Bihar Chief Minister on the issue.