Aamir Khan's 'Intolerance Rising' Remarks : Chhattisgarh High Court Dismisses Petition Seeking Criminal Action Against Actor

In a relief to Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, the Chhattisgarh High Court has dismissed a petition which sought criminal action against the actor for his remarks that intolerance was rising in India.

The complainant Dipak Diwan had sought action against Khan for offences under Section 153A and 153B of the Indian Penal Code alleging that Khan's remarks led to communal disharmony and were against national integration.

The Magistrate dismissed the complaint and the Sessions Judge affirmed the dismissal.

Challenging the refusal of the lower courts to act on the complaint, Diwan filed revision in the High Court.

By an order passed on November 23, a single bench of Justice Sanjay K Agrawal dismissed the revision petition, observing :

"I do not find any merit in the instant petition. It deserves to be and is accordingly dismissed, being substanceless and merit­less as well," the Bench said.

The Magistrate had dismissed the complaint pointing out that the complainant had not obtained the sanction of the government under Sections 196 and 196(1-A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure to launch prosecution for offences under Sections 153A/153B IPC.

The High Court upheld the action of the Magistrate by holding that cognizance of offences by Jurisdictional Magistrate under Sections 153-A and 153-B of IPC cannot be taken without previous sanction of the competent authority under Sections 196(1)(a) and 196(1-A)(a) of CrPC.

Khan had made the remarks at the Ramnath Goenka Award Ceremony in 2015, while supporting the artists who were returning awards given by the government to express their dissent.

"When I chat with Kiran(Khan's wife) at home, she says 'Should we move out of India?' That's a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make. She fears for her child. She fears about what the atmosphere around us will be. She feels scared to open the newspapers every day.

"That does indicate that there is this sense of growing disquiet, there is growing despondency apart from alarm. You feel why this is happening, you feel low. That sense does exist in me," Mr. Khan said.

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