On the petition of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi, the Supreme Court reserved the verdict on Monday (March 3), demanding the cancellation of the FIR registered by the Gujarat Police.
The Gujarat Police had registered a case, calling him a poem posted on social media. However, the Supreme Court reprimanded the Gujarat Police and said that “Listen to the thirsty things of blood”, the poem was really giving the message of non -violence.
Supreme Court comment: Kavita neither provocative nor anti -national
Supreme Court Justice Abhay S. A bench of Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan questioned the action of the Gujarat Police, saying that before registering the FIR, the police should have shown sensitivity and understood the true meaning of the poem.
“75 years after the Constitution came into force, now at least the police should understand the freedom of expression,” – Supreme Court
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The bench said that under Article 19 (1) (A) of the Constitution, preservation of freedom of speech and expression is necessary. Justice Oka commented,
“After all, it was a poem and its message was going to promote non -violence. There may be some problems in translation, but it is not against any religion or community. Kavita indirectly says that even if someone does violence, we will not be involved in violence. ”
FIR was registered in Gujarat, police told Kavita ‘provocative’
An FIR was lodged against Imran Pratapgarhi on 3 January during a mass wedding ceremony in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, presented by the Gujarat Police, described Pratapgarhi’s poem as ‘road imprint’ and said that it cannot be associated with famous poets like Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
“Video message uploaded by MP became the root of the problem,” – Tushar Mehta
On this, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Pratapgarhi, argued that the video was shared by the MP, not himself, but his team.
However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the MP will be held accountable for any video posted on his social media account.
The Supreme Court reserved the verdict after hearing the arguments of both sides.
Gujarat High Court’s decision was challenged
Congress leader Imran Pratapgarhi challenged the January 17 order of Gujarat High Court in the Supreme Court.
- The High Court had dismissed their petition to cancel the FIR, saying that the investigation was still in the initial stage.
- The Supreme Court on January 21 issued a notice to the Gujarat government and the complainant Kishanbhai Deepakbhai Nanda, prohibiting his arrest.
A case was registered against Pratapgarhi under sections 196 and 197 of the Indian Penal Code, which is related to spreading enmity on the basis of religion, caste etc. and damaging national unity.
