"You can't slap defamation cases on people for reporting on the chief minister's health condition. In an affidavit, the Tamil Nadu government has revealed that during the past five years, it had filed as many as 213 defamation cases against political opponents. Besides Vijaykant, several Opposition leaders have accused the Jayalalithaa government of "indiscriminately" filing defamation cases against them for even bona fide criticism of the government and its policies. It has been alleged that the public prosecutors in the state routinely file defamation cases against Opposition leaders. Mani, the counsel for Vijaykant, defamation cases have been filed by the government at the drop of a hat.

Source: The Telegraph August 24, 2016 22:07 UTC