Chennai: The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed against actor Rajinikanth over his remarks on rationalist leader E. V. Ramasamy “Periyar” as the petitioners withdrew the plea.
Justice P Rajamanickam was hearing the petition by Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam, a fringe outfit.
State Public Prosecutor A Natarajan submitted the petitioners had approached the court without seeking the alternative remedy available to them.
Justice Rajamanickam asked the counsel for the petitioners if they would withdraw the petition.
After the counsels admitted they would do so, the judge recorded the same and dismissed the plea.
Rajinikanth made the controversial remarks against Periyar recently at an event organised here by Tamil magazine 'Thuglak'.
“In 1971, at Salem, Periyar took out a rally in which the undressed images of Lord Sriramachandramoorthy and Sita - with a garland of sandal-featured ..” he said.
A Dravidian outift Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam, however, accused the actor of "uttering a blatant lie" and demanded his unconditional apology and also filed police complaints against him. The DVK alleged that the actor uttered a "blatant lie that the images of Lord Ram and Sita were taken nude in a rally, held as part of a superstition eradication conference held in 1971 at Salem."
The actor said he would not apologise for what he had said against Periyar. He said he had spoken only what he had heard and read, citing a reference to an article in an English magazine.
