Summary: The Madras High Court has directed Tamil Nadu not to permit public meetings or marches that target, defame or intimidate a sitting judge. The First Bench of Chief Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan held that abusive, defamatory or caste-based attacks on judges are not protected free speech, though citizens may criticise judgments. The order follows protests orchestrated by radical Islamist outfits like TNTJ and TMMK against a Madurai Bench overruling a 2024 TN government order which allowed an OBC/SC Hindu converting to Islam to claim reseveration benefits. The petitioner alleges that the protests turned into personalised, hostile campaigns against a Division Bench member, and that the police have not arraigned some visible protest leaders as accused.

Why it matters: The ruling sets a line between criticism of judgments and attacks on judges. It arises from a courageous court ruling against reservation benefits to those who convert out of Hindu Dharma, and bears directly on Hindu concerns about tacit political support to Abrahamic proselytization in states ruled by 'secular' parties through laws designed to appease votebank-controlling religious fundamentalists. The apex court's failure to take suo motu cognizance lays bare its selective activism, silently tolerating attacks on its own judges within supposedly liberal states

“Tamil Nadu: Madras HC bars public meetings targeting sitting judges, says caste-based attacks aren’t free speech” — Organiser, 1 Nov 2026

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