The Madras High Court on Tuesday (August 4, 2026) agreed to hear on the same day an urgent anticipatory bail petition to be moved by the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Udhayanidhi Stalin in a case booked against him for his objectionable remark during his public speech in Thanjavur on Monday (August 3, 2026).

Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan accepted a request made by senior counsel Hasan Mohammed Jinnah for grant of lunch motion and directed the High Court Registry to list the advance bail petition for hearing in the afternoon session since it was represented that the Thanjavur police had booked a case against the LoP.

When Mr. Jinnah insisted the police must be directed to not precipitate the matter and venture into arresting the LoP until his anticipatory bail plea gets heard by the court, the judge orally directed the government counsel to issue suitable instructions to the police until the court could examine the issue.

The judge said, he would like to know what was the case all about, whether a First Information Report had been registered, what were the charges levelled by the complainant and which of the legal provisions had been invoked against the Leader of the Opposition before taking a call on advance bail plea.

He told Mr. Jinnah the court would take up the anticipatory bail plea even before lunch if the petition gets filed and numbered by then. Mr. Udhayanidhi had led a demonstration in Thanjavur on Monday (August 4) against the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam-led State government’s handling of the Cauvery issue.

While criticising Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, the LoP was accused of having made an offensive remark following chants from the audience who named a film actor. This had led to a complaint lodged against him before the police as well as the National Commission for Women.

Since there was a threat of his arrest just a day before the commencement of the budget session of the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday (August 5, 2026), a mention was made before the High Court for an urgent hearing of his anticipatory bail plea.

Published - August 04, 2026 11:06 am IST