The Supreme Court asked the Delhi police to respond to CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat’s plea challenging the Delhi High Court’s dismissal of a petition against the trial court’s refusal to order registration of an FIR against Union Minister Anurag Thakur and BJP MP Parvesh Verma for alleged hate speeches during anti-CAA protests.
Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna issued a notice to the city police, requesting a response within three weeks. The bench noted that the magistrate’s stance requiring sanction for FIRs against the two leaders was not correct.
Last year on June 13, the High Court rejected a petition by CPI(M) leaders Brinda Karat and KM Tiwari against the two BJP MPs for their alleged hate speeches. The high court declined to overturn the trial court’s decision, citing the need for sanction from the competent authority for registration of FIRs.
The petitioners claimed that Thakur and Verma had incited violence leading to three firing incidents at protest sites in Delhi. Thakur allegedly encouraged the crowd to chant “shoot the traitors” at a rally in Rithala on January 27, 2020, while Verma made inflammatory remarks against Shaheen Bagh protesters on January 28, 2020.
The trial court dismissed the complaint on August 26, 2021, stating that the necessary sanction from the central government was not obtained. Karat and Tiwari had requested FIRs against the BJP leaders under various IPC sections related to promoting enmity, prejudicial assertions, and intentional acts to outrage religious feelings.
The maximum punishment for the offenses is a seven-year jail term.
