Cracking down on objectionable social media content targeting Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, the Punjab Police on Wednesday registered several FIRs after receipt of numerous complaints in various districts of the state against more than 100 social media handles.
On October 6, now suspended advocate Rakesh Kishore, who was present in the courtroom, attempted to remove his shoe to hurl it at the CJI. However, he was stopped by the security personnel and escorted out.
Kishore said that his angst was directed against the CJI over the latter’s remarks made while dismissing a petition for the restoration of Lord Vishnu’s idol at Khajuraho. Kishore was subsequently picked up by the police but was let off after the Supreme Court registry said it did not intend to press any charges.
The Bar Council of India suspended the license of the lawyer even as he expressed no remorse for his action, alleging that a divine voice provoked him to take this step.
According to sources in the Punjab Police, at least a dozen FIRs (12-15 as the process is on to gather information) have been registered against 28 accused. Almost all accused are from out of Punjab and have been booked under non-bailable sections.
{{/usCountry}}According to sources in the Punjab Police, at least a dozen FIRs (12-15 as the process is on to gather information) have been registered against 28 accused. Almost all accused are from out of Punjab and have been booked under non-bailable sections.
{{/usCountry}}The main accused against whom FIRs have been registered include YouTuber Ajeet Bharti and an editor of a news website. Bharti and the editor of the news website have been booked on the complaint of a person who alleged that the duo in a discussion in a video belittled the CJI and used objectionable and casteist remarks, said the sources.
A Punjab Police spokesperson said social media content relating to attacks on high constitutional authority, caste-based vilification and incitement, public mischief with a direct attempt to disturb peace and public order by unjustly exploiting caste and communal sentiments has been flagged and FIRs have been registered in accordance with the law.
FIRs have been registered under sections u/s 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s) and 3(1)(u) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (prevention of atrocities) Act, 1989, and Sections 196 (promoting hatred), 352 (intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of the public peace), 353(1) (statements causing public mischief by inducing fear or alarm in the public that leads them to commit an offense against the state or public tranquility), 353(2) (intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace or another offense ) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The contents of the social media posts included posts intended to provoke violence and erode respect for constitutional position, intentional intimidation and insult to a member of a Scheduled Caste (SC), attempts to promote enmity, hatred and ill-will against a member of SC category, promotion of enmity between groups on grounds of caste and intentional insult with the intent to provoke breach of peace and statements conducting to public mischief, said the spokesperson.
The posts and videos in question contain casteist and hate-filled expressions intended to promote communal disharmony, disturb public order and erode respect for judicial institutions, he said.
The social media content included unlawful and objectionable posts targeting the CJI, he added.
According to a senior Punjab Police official, after registering the cases, the Cyber Cell wing has been told to start a process to immediately remove the content from various social media platforms by taking up the matter with the platform concerned.
Meanwhile, Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, a Dalit face of the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab Government, in a press conference accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for fostering an anti-Dalit atmosphere in the country, declaring the incident an assault on the Supreme Court, the Constitution drafted by Dr BR Ambedkar, and the millions of Dalits nationwide.
Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, Cheema affirmed that the AAP will never allow the BJP’s “anti-Dalit policies and stratagems to succeed”.
“AAP is actively formulating a comprehensive legal and social strategy in response to the attack on the CJI. The party plans to launch a widespread campaign about the issue and ensure that rigorous legal action is taken against all the guilty parties,” he added. He highlighted the need to crack down on unlawful and objectionable social media content targeting the CJI.
Cheema also questioned leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s silence on the issue.