Mon Dec 02 09:05:09 UTC 2024: ## BJP Leader H. Raja Convicted, Sentenced to One Year in Jail
**Chennai, December 2, 2023** – H. Raja, the Tamil Nadu BJP unit’s co-ordination committee president, has been found guilty and sentenced to one year imprisonment and a fine of ₹10,000. The Chennai special court’s verdict stems from two separate cases filed against Raja in 2018 for controversial social media posts.
The first case involved a tweet threatening to damage a statue of Periyar, a prominent social reformer. The second pertained to derogatory remarks made against DMK MP Kanimozhi. Following widespread condemnation and complaints filed by the DMK and Dravidar Kazhagam, police registered cases against Raja.
Raja, in his defense, claimed that his social media accounts were compromised and that he did not author the posts. However, this argument was rejected by the court after a three-month trial. The court dismissed Raja’s pleas to have the case dismissed three times.
In a 41-page judgment delivered today, the court ruled that the prosecution had successfully proven beyond reasonable doubt that the controversial posts originated from Raja’s social media accounts. The lack of evidence supporting his claim of account compromise led to his conviction. He received six months imprisonment for each case, to be served concurrently, amounting to a total of one year.
First Piper 