Madras high court judge seeks criminal contempt proceedings against actor-producer Suriya

Justice SM Subramaniam of the Madras high court has written to the chief justice of the court to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against actor-producer Suriya Sivakumar for his comments on the judgement of the Supreme Court allowing the NEET (National Entrance Eligibility Tests) in the country.

Suriya made his statement in a long open letter written after the death by suicide of three students in the state.

In his letter released on Twitter, the actor condoled the death of the students, saying, "There is no greater sorrow than having to mourn the loss of students who should, instead, be receiving good wishes for their exams."

Calling the decision to allow the exams to be held during the COVID-19 pandemic oppressive, the actor said, "At times of fear for life due to the coronavirus, the court which administers justice through video-conferencing orders students to go and write exams without fear."

Despite several petitions by various states in the Supreme Court seeking postponement of the exam, the court refused to stop the process and the exams were conducted on Sunday across the country.

Suriya's statement led justice SM Subramaniam to write to the chief justice to initiate contempt proceedings against him. The legal news website BarandBench.com quoted Subramaniam's letter as saying, 'The statement reveals that the hon'ble judges are afraid for their own lives and rendering justice through video-conferencing. While so, they have no moral [right] to pass orders directing the students to appear for the NEET exam without fear. The said statement in my considered opinion amounts to contempt of court as the integrity and devotion of the hon'ble judges as well as the judicial system of our great nation are not only undermined but criticized in a bad shape, wherein there is threat to the public confidence in the judiciary.'

However, the letter has not yet received approval from the state advocate general for contempt proceedings to be initiated. The website quoted Tamil Nadu advocate general Vijay Narayan as saying, "To my knowledge, nobody has filed a petition. In criminal contempt, the AG's consent is sought. But that does not bar the court from initiating contempt suo motu. From what I read in the newspapers, it is only a letter written to the chief justice. I do not know what the chief justice intends to do with it."

The actor-producer is currently awaiting the release of his next film, Soorarai Pottru, on Amazon Prime on 30 October.