TN activist who was jailed after he refused to stand during enquiry acquitted

Chennai, Oct 17 (PTI) More than 10 years after he was jailed following his refusal to stand during a hearing on his RTI plea seeking details of J Jayalalithaa government's advertisement expenses, activist Siva Elango has finally been acquitted from the case filed against him.
    When he sought details on the money spent to advertise the AIADMK government's one year achievements, from 2011 to 2012, in several dailies across the nation, the information was declined by state authorities.
    Elango, 47, belonged to the Satta Panchayat Iyakkam, an anti-graft NGO.
    According to Elango, when his appeal came up for hearing in January 2015 before the Tamil Nadu Information Commission, he was asked to stand during the enquiry proceedings.
    "I declined to stand quoting the provisions of the RTI Act," Elango told PTI.
    Subsequently, a written police complaint was lodged against Elango by the commission. The panel alleged criminal intimidation, use of defamatory words and obstructing government employees from doing their duty.
    Elango was arrested on January 7, 2015 and he was lodged in Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai for three days.
    "I appeared in the case as a party-in-person. The case went on for 10 years and saw 140 adjournments. I was finally acquitted on October 15, 2024 by the 18th Saidapet metropolitan magistrate court," Elango said, adding there was no sufficient evidence to prove the prosecution case against him.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)