Madras HC Sets Aside H. Raja’s Conviction in Two 2018 Tweet Cases

NewsBharati    02-Sep-2026 17:29:28 PM
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Chennai , September 2: The Madras High Court on Tuesday set aside the conviction and six-month simple imprisonment imposed on BJP leader H. Raja in two criminal cases linked to tweets posted in 2018.
 
Raja’s Conviction
 
Justice V. Lakshminarayanan allowed two criminal appeals filed by Raja and quashed the orders passed by a special court for MP/MLA cases in Chennai on December 2, 2024.
 
One case concerned a tweet allegedly posted from Raja’s X account on April 18, 2018, containing offensive remarks referring indirectly to former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and his daughter Kanimozhi.
 
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The second case related to a March 6, 2018 tweet that called for the demolition of statues of rationalist leader E.V. Ramasamy ‘Periyar’.
 
The police had registered cases under Sections 143, 341 and 153 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
 
While allowing the appeals, the High Court highlighted the unexplained delay in registering the FIRs.
The complaints were filed in March and April 2018, but the FIRs were registered only in September 2018. The Court observed that such unexplained delay could raise suspicion about the possibility of manipulation or fabrication of the allegations.
 
 
 
The Court also noted that Raja had denied posting the alleged tweets.
 
A key issue before the Court was whether the alleged tweets had been properly proved as electronic evidence.
Justice Lakshminarayanan observed that a tweet constitutes an electronic document and must be proved in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Information Technology Act and Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act.
 
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However, the prosecution failed to establish the tweets in the manner required by law. The Court also noted that no electronic gadgets had been seized during the investigation to substantiate the allegations.
 
The Court concluded that the existence of the tweets, their attribution to Raja and the alleged consequences had not been legally proved.
 
Consequently, the High Court set aside Raja’s conviction and sentence in both cases.

Madras Sections 143 341 Indian Penal Code (IPC) High Court FIR