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Jaya moves HC to vacate gag order: PTI

AIADMK leader Jayalalitha on Thursday filed an application in the Madras high court seeking to vacate the interim injunction granted on Wednesday restraining her from making 'defamatory' statements against Nakkheeran editor R R Gopal in connection with his role as official emissary to negotiate with forest brigand Veerappan.

In her application, which is yet to be taken up for hearing, she contended that the injunction was unsustainable in law as it affected her freedom of speech guaranteed in the Constitution. She claimed that her remarks against Gopal in a recent statement were not defamatory, as alleged by him.

Gopal, while obtaining the court restraint, had contended that her description of him as a 'blackmailer who extorted money in the name of Veerappan' seriously affected his reputation and exposed him to public contempt and odium.

Jayalalitha, however, contended that as the leader of a large political party, she could not keep quiet on the Veerappan affair, when 'such an open outrage is occurring in the state, reducing the honour of the Tamil Nadu police for want of administrative guidance'.

Noting that criminal cases had been registered against Gopal by the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments, she said it would not at all be defamatory to speak about the 'upgradation of an accused to the status of an emissary'. Her remarks on Gopal were made in good faith and in public interest, and hence, the injunction should be vacated, she said.

The Rajakumar Abduction: complete coverage
The saga of Veerappan

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