The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday observed that no cognisable offence warranting the registration of an FIR was made out in a petition alleging hate speech by Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma in 2020, according to Live Law.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta delivered the verdict while hearing a plea filed by Brinda Karat. She had challenged a Delhi High Court order that upheld a trial court’s refusal to direct the registration of a case against the BJP leaders.
The petition had referred to statements made during a rally. At one rally, Thakur was reported to have led a slogan “desh ke gaddaron ko” and the crowd responded with “goli maaro saalon ko”. In a separate speech, Verma had allegedly warned that protesters gathered at Shaheen Bagh could enter homes and commit acts of violence against families, Scroll.in reported.
These remarks were made ahead of the elections, shortly before riots broke out in North East Delhi in February 2020, resulting in 53 deaths and injuries to hundreds, with most victims being Muslims.
In her plea, Karat had argued that the speeches amounted to incitement, alleging that they encouraged the use of force against anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters and promoted hostility towards Muslims by portraying them as threats.
In June 2022, the High Court upheld the trial court’s decision, stating that the petitioner had not followed the proper procedure under the Code of Criminal Procedure for seeking registration of an FIR. Karat subsequently moved the Supreme Court.
In its ruling, the apex court indicated that it found no reason to interfere with the High Court’s decision on the merits. However, it disagreed with the High Court’s view that prior sanction was necessary before a magistrate could order an FIR under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The bench clarified that such prior sanction is not required at the pre-cognisance stage and set aside that portion of the High Court’s observations.
At the same time, after examining the material on record, including the alleged speeches, the court concurred with both the trial court and the High Court that no cognisable offence was established against the two BJP leaders.