Madurai: Anti-nuclear activist and Aam Aadmi Party nominee in Lok Sabha polls S P Udhayakumar was on Thursday granted anticipatory bail by the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court in a two-year old criminal case linked to an anti-KNPP protest in which he is facing a non-bailable arrest warrant.
Allowing a petition, Justice R S Ramanathan directed Udhayakumar, who has filed nomination from Kannyakumari constituency for the April 24 polls, to approach the concerned Judicial Magistrate at Valliyoor and get the bail.
Vallior Judicial Magistrate Court had issued the NBW after the case was registered against 30 persons, including Udayakumar, for allegedly misusing religious institution for a protest against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in 2012.
The case was filed on Feb 21, 2012 under IPC and Religious Institution (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988 for allegedly assembling in front of the St Lurdhu Matha Church,and sitting on hunger strike to commit riot against the KNPP.
Udhayakumar, who has been spearheading the protest against KNPP in the past three years, said going on fast was not an offence and he and his supporters had no intention to disturb public tranquillity.
He submitted that even the Supreme court had suggested withdrawal of criminal cases against the anti-KKNP agitators so that normalcy could return to Kudankulam. But the authorities did not withdraw all the cases, and they were still facing 220 cases.
