Madras High Court stays case against BJP leader Annamalai over Muthuramalinga Thevar remarks

The Madras High Court on Monday (April 20, 2026) stayed all further proceedings in a criminal case pending against former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president K. Annamalai before a judicial magistrate court in Salem for reportedly claiming at a press meet that Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar, in 1956, warned of performing ‘blood abhishekam’ for Madurai Meenakshi Amman “if atheists continued to insult theists.”

Justice M. Nirmal Kumar granted the interim stay, dispensed with the personal appearance of Mr. Annamalai before the trial court, and ordered notice, returnable by June 15, to the complainant Piyush Manush on the petitioner’s plea to quash the private complaint. The Magistrate had taken cognisance of the complaint on February 11, 2026, and ordered the issuance of summons for the appearance of the petitioner.