Allahabad HC Stays Arrest Of 'Attendee' Of Meeting Where Guests Were 'Incited' To Desecrate Hindu Temples With Footwear

The Allahabad High Court on Friday stayed the arrest of a school teacher who has been accused of attending a meeting where the speaker allegedly incited the attendees to disrespect Hindu religious symbols and to desecrate temples by striking them with footwear. A bench of Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Prashant Kumar granted relief to accused Bhisham Pal Singh, booked under Section 299 of BNS (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs). As per the contents of the FIR, the informant saw a viral video where a woman allegedly made derogatory remarks against Hindu deities and incited individuals present in the meeting to disrespect Hindu religious symbols, such as sindoor and bichhiya, and that she encouraged others to desecrate temples by striking them with footwear. The FIR further stated that such remarks had hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus and could create communal disharmony. Challenging the impugned FIR, the accused-petitioner moved the HC, contending that the allegations against him are baseless and politically motivated as he had no involvement in making derogatory remarks or inciting communal disharmony, as alleged in the FIR. The counsel for the petitioner argued that the petitioner was merely present at the meeting and did not participate in any unlawful activities. It was further submitted that the informant herself has multiple FIRs registered against her in the past for disturbing public peace, indicating a pattern of filing frivolous complaints. In light of these circumstances, he prayed for the quashing of the impugned FIR and protection from any coercive action by the police. Noting that the matter required consideration, the Court issued notice to the informant and granted liberty to all the respondents, including the state government, to file a counter affidavit within six weeks. Furthermore, considering the facts and circumstances of the case, as an interim measure, the division bench provided that until the next date of listing or till submission of a police report, whichever is earlier, the petitioner shall not be arrested in the FIR, subject to cooperation in the ongoing investigation. Advocates Pankaj Kumar Ojha and Shiv Poojan Yadav appeared for the petitioner. Case title - Bhisham Pal Singh vs. State Of U.P. And 3 Others Click Here To Read/Download Order

Allahabad HC Stays Arrest Of 'Attendee' Of Meeting Where Guests Were 'Incited' To Desecrate Hindu Temples With Footwear

Sparsh Upadhyay

Tags