A sessions court on Wednesday ordered issuance of summons to DMK president M. Karunanidhi for appearing before the court on October 10 in connection with a defamation case filed by chief minister J. Jayalalithaa.
Principal sessions judge P. Kalaiarasan also ordered issuance of summons to S. Selvam, the printer, publisher and editor of Murasoli, a DMK party organ that published the news item for appearing before court the same day.
The Tamil daily in its edition dated August 31 published a defamatory news item with the headline Kalaignar Pathilgal in question and answer format relating to chief minister’s stay at Kodanad Estate, said city public prosecutor M.L. Jagan, who filed the complaint on behalf of the chief minister.
Meanwhile, the judge returned the defamation complaint filed against the publisher, printer, editor and a reporter of Times of India, an English daily, by Jagan, on behalf of the chief minister.
Jagan contended that the daily in its edition dated August 25 had published a news item headlined “Tamil Nadu gives its drivers a license to kill”, which stated that the “transport department and the police have also shown alarming laxity while dealing with drunk driving, canceling fewer licenses than ever before”. The news item was prima facie libelous, he said.