HC declines to gag ministers from speaking on Jaya's death

The Madras High Court today declined to restrain Tamil Nadu ministers from making any statements on the hospitalisation of late chief minister Jayalalithaa last year.
Refusing to grant the prayer of a petitioner for interim injection, the first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and M Sundar orally observed that freedom of expression was a fundamental right subject to restrictions and the court cannot pass any blanket order on it.
The bench dismissed the petition which sought a judicial commission of inquiry into the death of Jayalalithaa in view of the state government appointing a retired high court judge to look into the matter.

Petitioner P Muruganandham, an AIADMK worker of Thiruvarur district had also sought an interim direction to restrain the ministers and others from making controversial statements on Jayalalithaa's hospitalisation.
In his petition, filed before the probe panel was set up, he had contended that when the government's motive was to find out the truth, attributing motives to some party leaders by the ministers themselves "will amount to interfering in the functions of the (then) proposed commission of inquiry".
The late AIADMK supremo was admitted to a hospital here on September 22 last year and breathed her last on December 5.