The Allahabad high court has stayed the arrest to two men accused of posting objectionable comments on social media against general secretary, Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust, Champat Rai.
The court also asked the state government to file a counter affidavit (reply) in the case and issued a notice to Sanjay Bansal, who claims to be Champat Rai’s brother, who had lodged the FIR against the two men at Nagina police station of Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh last month.
Justice SP Kesarwani and Justice Piyush Agrawal passed the order in two separate petitions filed by Vineet Narain and Rajneesh Kapur—the two accused in the case. On June 19, a complaint was filed by Sanjay Bansal alleging that the petitioners had posted some objectionable comments on social media against Champat Rai on the basis of false allegations made by one Alka Lahoti from Nagina with the intention of promoting enmity or hatred among sections of the society. It was alleged in the complaint that the social media post had hurt religious feelings of Hindus.
The petitioners’ submission was that from the reading of the FIR, no offence was made out and the FIR was malafidely lodged which did not disclose commission of any offence by the petitioners. Therefore, the impugned FIR deserved to be quashed.
{{/usCountry}}The petitioners’ submission was that from the reading of the FIR, no offence was made out and the FIR was malafidely lodged which did not disclose commission of any offence by the petitioners. Therefore, the impugned FIR deserved to be quashed.
{{/usCountry}}The court, after hearing concerned parties, observed, “Bare perusal of the impugned first information report shows that even if the allegations made in the impugned first information report are taken in their entirety they do not constitute the offence alleged.”
“From the aforesaid it prima facie, appears that the impugned first information report cannot be sustained in view of the law laid down by the Hon’ble Apex Court in State of Haryana and others vs. Bhajan Lal,” the court further said while fixing July 27 as the next date of hearing in the case.