Punjab and Haryana High Court Quashes FIRs against Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, Kumar Vishwas

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday quashed an FIR against the BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, who was accused by Punjab Police of spreading misinformation and communal disharmony, and posting inflammatory statements against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.Justice Anoop Chitkara in the order said the purported statement of Bagga is a "protest" against the statement made by Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal."Being a political activist and an official spokesperson of a political party, as a shadow of the incumbent, it was well within his rights to make the people aware of the response of an opposite political leader. Democracy is all about informing the people and creating sentiments, and it would be an offence only if campaigning is full of hatred, or there is an involvement in malicious activities, or derogatory and vicious statements are made to gain political mileage," said the court.The CaseBagga had criticised Kejriwal after the release of 'The Kashmir Files' movie and demanded entertainment tax exemption for it in Delhi. According to Bagga, Kejriwal not only refused to grant any such concession but "allegedly also mocked the authenticity of the movie's storyline". Bagga had demanded an apology from the Delhi CM.A written complaint was given to Cyber Crime Cell of Punjab Police in April against Bagga and others accusing him of causing instigation and incitement with his statements. The complaint by an Aam Aadmi Party leader also accused Bagga of issuing inflammatory statements to outrage religious feelings and cause disharmony. The complaint also accused him of spreading falsehood and making communally divisive statements against Kejriwal.A Special Investigation Team was constituted by Punjab Police after registration of FIR on the complaint. Bagga's counsel before the HC argued that words used were, "BJP yuva morcha ka ye karyakarta inhen jine nahin dega" and the context in which they were spoken by no stretch of the imagination would mean or imply assassination or criminal intimidation."The complainant deliberately omitted the last part of the petitioner's statement, where he had cautioned Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, that he would to continue to agitate until Mr. Kejriwal retracts his statement questioning the genocide of Hindus in Kashmir," Senior Advocate R S Rai, argued before the court.On the other hand, Senior Advocate Puneet Bali for the Punjab state argued that investigation is at its nascent stage and despite notices, Bagga didn't turn up to join the investigation."The accused intended to convey misinformation, spread communal disharmony, and create a hostile and vicious environment through them," Bali argued. FindingsJustice Chitkara said that the phrase 'jheene nahi dhoonga' cannot be seen independent of the entire statement made by Bagga, while rejecting the argument that it was an act of criminal intimidation or a threat to kill."Further the context and the behavior, particularly criminal, is also a material factor in arriving at a conclusion in such situations. If a gangster, mafia, or a recidivist makes a statement that he will not let somebody live, the first probable reasonable assumption that is likely to be drawn is a threat to assassinate, however, an ordinary person, e.g., a nagging spouse or a disgruntled boss, makes such a statement in response to the doing or undoing of something, it would altogether have a different first impression," the court said further.However, the court said the list of FIRs, presented by Punjab Police, against Bagga shows these are all non-serious offences registered a decade earlier and lacks proximity to the interview."Thus, based on this criminal history, there is nothing to assume that the petitioner is a habitual offender, or a gangster, or a mafia, or an anti-social element. In the given context, the petitioner's assertion that 'Agar wo maafi nahi mangte to Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha ka ye Karyakarta unhe jine nahi dega' reasonably amounts only to making somebody's life restless with nagging about the undoing of an act," said the court.The court also said that merely because the language used by Bagga is unrefined, it cannot be sufficient to "import hatred, detestation or slander to its contents". "There is nothing in the statement to take the speech as an insult or threat, or an attempt to vilify the members of the targeted group or that it stigmatized them. There is nothing in the speech which points towards the petitioner's intention to divide the communities on regional and religious lines. The petitioner's agitation cannot be termed other than political, and there is no evidence of any specific incident in the complaint that led to the peace breach because of the statement. There is nothing to infer that the statement was so inciting that it would fall within the purview of hate speech and that it led to any violence or made fault lines in the structures of communities," said the court.The court...

Punjab and Haryana High Court Quashes FIRs against Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, Kumar Vishwas

Sofi Ahsan

There cannot be any democracy without freedom of choice and free speech: Court

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