MDMK chief Vaiko was on Friday convicted by a city court in Chennai in a sedition case filed in 2009 by the then Tamil Nadu government. Ironically, the conviction comes a day before Vaiko was to file his nomination for the upcoming Rajya Sabha election, for which the DMK had backed him.
He was sentenced to simple imprisonment for a year. Judge J. Shanthi held him guilty of the offence of sedition.
Vaiko, who was present in the court, said he never sought any leniency.
A petition was filed to suspend the conviction, enabling an appeal against the order. Subsequently, the conviction and sentence were stayed for one month.
Police had registered a case under Section 124(A) of IPC (sedition) against Vaiko for the speech he made while releasing his book Naan Kutram Sattugiren (I am Making the Accusation) in 2009. Ironically, the case against Vaiko was filed during the time the DMK was ruling Tamil Nadu. The book by Vaiko was a compilation of letters written by him to the Central government over the Sri Lankan Civil War. Vaiko had then accused both the Manmohan Singh government at the Centre and the DMK government in Tamil Nadu of inaction over the Sri Lankan Civil War.
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The last date of filing of nominations for the Rajya Sabha polls is July 8. Polls will be held on July 18, if there is a contest. Media reports quoted experts as saying Vaiko could still contest the Rajya Sabha election as the provisions for disqualification under the Representation of People's Act do not mention sedition.
(With PTI inputs)
