Case against Suriya, Sathyaraj, Vivekh quashed

Eight actors including Suriya, Sathyaraj, Sarathkumar, Cheran and Vivekh have reason to heave a sigh of relief as the Madras High court has quashed a defamation case in which Non-bailable Warrants were issued against them.

Justice Muralidharan, while quashing the case, observed that no useful purpose would be served by continuing the prosecution.

A court in Ooty had issued the non bailable arrest warrants against actors Surya, Sathyaraj, Sarathkumar, Vivekh, Vijayakumar, Arun Vijay, Cheran and Sripriya for failing to present themselves before it in connection with a defamation case filed against them by a journalist.

The case was filed by Rozario Susai after the actors indulged in slander and abused journalists and their family members while delivering speeches at a specially convened meeting at the Nadigar Sangam in 2009.

The speeches were delivered at a time the actors had taken exception to a particular report that had appeared in a leading vernacular newspaper.

Rozario filed the defamation case against those actors who had delivered such speeches under Section 200 of the CrPC.

The actors, for their part, approached the Madras High court with petitions urging the court to quash the petition seeking action against them for the defamatory speeches.