Kerala court junks petition against Media One on Bhagat Singh remarks
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Ottapalam/Kerala: Over alleged remarks against freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, the Ottapalam Judicial Magistrate of the First Class Court in Kerala junked a private complaint, ruling that there was “no intentional insult” intended to provoke a breach of peace, Live Law reported.
The complaint named Media One Managing Editor C Dawood, and editors Pramod Raman and Nishad Rawther. It claimed that Dawood made “abusive, unpatriotic and derogatory remarks” about Bhagat Singh during a live programme broadcast from Jeddah on December 11, 2024.
The incident regarding the case involves Dawood’s statement that a calendar date could determine whether a terrorist or a patriot. He was answering a question on how he deals with being labelled as a “terrorist”. He responded that “terrorist” is a construct that could change with time, citing that the British called Bhagat Singh a terrorist but Indians celebrated him as a patriot. Bhagat Singh was someone who put a bomb in a court, was hanged after being convicted as a terrorist, he reminded.
The court held that there was no basis to take cognisance under Sections 152, 192, 196, 197(d), 352, and 353(c)(2) of the BNS, which relate to acts endangering sovereignty, incitement, promoting enmity, and public mischief. It noted that the accused appeared in court after being issued notice and that the entire programme was reviewed.
It ruled that the complaint has no case because, due to the act of the accused, the sovereignty or integrity of India was challenged. The court also said it did not find intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace.