New Delhi: No one in India has a right to propagate divisive ideas and conduct meetings for the abolition of any ideology, the Madras high court said in an order last week.It also held that the Tamil Nadu Police should have taken action against members of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) who took part in the September 2 meeting titled ‘Sanatana Eradication Conclave’, where minister Udhayanidhi Stalin had likened sanatana dharma to dengue and malaria.“[The] co-existence of multiple and different ideologies is the identity of this country,” the bench comprising Justice G. Jayachandran said in the order.It was hearing a writ petition by one Magesh Karthikeyan seeking directions to local police to grant permission for a “meeting about Dravidian ideology”.Karthikeyan had suggested a Tamil title for his meeting which roughly translates to ‘Dravida Eradication and Tamilian Integration Conclave’.He said he filed his writ petition in light of an earlier order passed by the high court, which directed police to permit a meeting whose conveners may have contrarian views on Dravidian ideology.But the bench said this earlier meeting and Karthikeyan’s proposed meeting were different kettles of fish.“The petitioner herein claims that it is [his] fundamental right to conduct such [a] meeting. The court cannot subscribe to this view,” its order read.It continued: “No person in this country can have a right to propagate divisive ideas and conduct [meetings] to abolish or eradicate any ideology.”Also Read: The BJP May End Up Tying Itself in Knots By Attacking Udhayanidhi Stalin“No one can expect courts to aid them to propagate ideas to create ill-will among the public … If the request of the petitioner is acceded, it will cause further disturbance to the peace and tranquillity of the public,” the bench’s order said.It also rebuked the organisers of the September 2 ‘Sanatana Eradication Conclave’.“Some members of the ruling party [the DMK] and ministers participated in the meeting held for eradicating ‘Sanatana Dharma’ and no action has been taken by the police against them, which is a dereliction of duty on the part of the police,” it said.People “are already fed up by the way some of the fringe groups in support of persons who have taken the oath of office to preserve the spirit of [the] constitution, act in breach of their oath,” the bench claimed in its order.“This court is of the view that [a] person in power should realise the danger of speech unflaring [sic] fissiparous tendency and behave responsibly and restrain themselves from propagating views which will divide people in the name of ideology, caste and religion.”“Instead they may concentrate on eradicating intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injuries to health, corruption untouchability and other social [evils],” it concluded before dismissing Karthikeyan’s writ petition.At the September 2 meeting, Udhayanidhi Stalin – who is also the son of Tamil Nadu chief minister and party president M.K. Stalin – likened sanatana dharma to COVID-19, dengue, and malaria and said that it must not only be opposed but eradicated.Later in September, the Supreme Court issued notice to Udhayanidhi and the Tamil Nadu government on a petition seeking an investigation into his remarks at the meeting, The Hindu reported.