Minister for Natural Resources TK. Prabhu
| Photo Credit: X/@drtkprabhu_TVK
The Madras High Court on Monday (September 21, 2026) granted leave (permission) to Tamil Nadu Minister for Natural Resources TK. Prabhu to sue YouTuber M. Maridhas before the court for having allegedly made defamatory statements against him on YouTube, X, and other social media platforms.
Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi allowed an application filed by the Minister, seeking the leave of the court, and directed the High Court Registry to number the defamation suit filed by him against the YouTuber, Google LLC, YouTube India, and X Corporation based in California.
The orders were passed after hearing senior counsel P.H. Arvindh Pandian, assisted by Vikram Veerasamy, who contended that a part of the cause of action for filing of the civil suit had arisen within the jurisidiction of the High Court and therefore, the Minister was entitled to file the suit here.
The senior counsel also submitted three previous orders, passed in other cases, where the court had granted leave to similarly placed individuals to file defamation suits for the false, malicious, and defamatory statements made against them on social media.
What does the Minister’s plaint say?
In his plaint, the Minister said he got elected from the Karaikudi Assembly constituency on a TVK ticket and was inducted into the Cabinet as the Minister in charge of mines and minerals, entrusted with the responsibility of curbing illegal mining and undertaking reforms.
The Minister accused the YouTuber of having made false, baseless, and defamatory imputations of corruption and other illegalities against him on his YouTube channel and also sharing them on his X handle. He claimed the allegations were wholly contrary to truth.
Listing out the links to all the objectionable videos shared on these social media platforms, the Minister urged the High Court to direct the YouTuber to pay him damages of ₹1 crore with interest at the rate of 12% per annum from the date of the filing of the suit till the date of realisation.
A dentist by qualification, Dr. Prabhu said that he was born and raised in Karaikudi and was known among the people of his constituency for his “integrity, ethical conduct, probity, uprightness, straightforwardness and responsible public service.”
The damages were claimed for the loss of reputation, emotional distress, mental agony, professional harm, and violation of the plaintiff’s dignity and privacy.
Published – September 21, 2026 12:40 pm IST
