Tamil author facing sedition charges gets pre-arrest bail

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court today granted anticipatory bail to author K.Senthil Mallar in a case of alleged sedition filed by the state government over his banned Tamil book.
Justice R.Mala allowed the plea of Mallar and directed him to furnish a personal surety bond for Rs.5,000 and appear before the Sattur Judicial Magistrate daily.
The government had last month banned the book "Meendezhum Pandiyar Varalaru" (Resurgence of Pandiyar's history) which claimed that Pallars, a Scheduled Caste, were the original rulers of southern Tamil Nadu.
According to the government gazette order, the book contained "demeaning" description and "disparaging" remarks against certain communities and "distorted" the history of promient leaders of the state.

The Sattur Town police had filed the case against Mallar and his father-in-law Perumalsamy under Sections the Indian Penal Code provisions related to sedition and causing disharmony between sections of society.
Perumalsamy had already been arrested from his house at Chinna Odaipatti Village in Sattur for alleged possession of copies of the book.
The government issued a gazette order under section 95 (1) (a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974) stating that the book should be forfeited to the government.
The book, the author said, was an attempt towards caste identity construction.