Delhi HC Dismisses Plea For Hate Speech FIR Against BJP Leaders

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a plea by CPI(M) leaders Brinda Karat and KM Tiwari challenging the trial court's refusal to direct the registration of an FIR against Union Minister Anurag Thakur and his BJP colleague and MP Pravesh Verma for their alleged hate speeches concerning anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh here.

The order was pronounced by Justice Chandra Dhari Singh who had reserved the verdict on March 25. The trial court had, on August 26, 2021, dismissed the petitioners' plea seeking registration of FIR on the ground that it was not sustainable as the requisite sanction from the competent authority, the central government, was not obtained. The petitioners had claimed before the high court that a cognisable offence was made out against the two leaders in the present case and an FIR should be lodged against them for their alleged hate speeches concerning the anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh here and that they were only asking the police to investigate the matter.

Delhi Police had defended the trial court order, saying that it rightly held that it does not have jurisdiction to deal with the case and referred to the Supreme Court's judgements which said that if a judge is saying he does not have jurisdiction, he should not comment on merits and that is the right approach. The petitioners had claimed in their complaint before the trial court that “Thakur and Verma had sought to incite people as a result of which three incidents of firing took place at two different protest sites in Delhi.”

They had mentioned that at the Rithala rally here, Thakur had, on January 27, 2020, egged on the crowd to raise an incendiary slogan – “shoot the traitors” – after lashing out at anti-CAA protesters. They had further claimed that Verma had, on January 28, 2020, allegedly made incendiary comments against the anti-CAA protesters in Shaheen Bagh.

(With PTI Inputs)