Denying a recent claim by Nakkheeran magazine, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has said neither she nor Dr M.G. Ramachandran ate beef.
In her contempt petition against the magazine’s editor R.R. Gopal and associate editor A. Kamaraj, Jaya said, “Dr MGR never ate beef in his lifetime. I too have never eaten beef in my life so far. The statement that I cooked and served beef is highly derogatory and intended to malign my character and reputation.”
When the petition came up before a division bench comprising chief justice M.Y. Eqbal and justice T.S. Sivagnanam Thursday, counsel for Gopal said the editor 'has realised his mistake' and would publish a regret message on the cover page of the magazine’s next issue.
In her petition, Jayalalithaa sought punishment for Mr Gopal and Mr Kamaraj for publishing false information on her eating habits in violation of a court order of April 2006 directing Nakkheeran not to print anything relating to her without checking with her.
Meanwhile, justice M.M. Sundresh granted anticipatory bail to Mr Gopal and Mr Kamaraj but with a condition that they should refrain from printing derogatory matter touching upon CM’s personal life.