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'Sheer abuse of law': Jammu HC quashes FIR against Kargil Congress councillor
Zakir Hussain was booked by the police after his “highly objectionable” audio clip, mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Army.
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Thursday quashed a sedition case filed against Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil, (LAHDC-K), Zakir Hussain, for his comments on the Indian Army following clashes with People’s Liberation Army of China at Galwan Valley in Ladakh last year.
Justice Sanjeev Kumar of J-K High Court, Srinagar Wing, quashed the FIR against Hussain. He was booked by the police after his “highly objectionable” audio clip, mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Army in the wake of the recent face-off between India and China, went viral on social media.
While quashing the FIR, Justice Sanjeev Kumar observed that that the offences charged against the petitioner are not made out and, therefore, the registration of FIR, which has culminated into the filing of the final police report without previous sanction from the competent authority before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kargil, is sheer abuse of the process of law.
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“This Court, therefore, finds it a fit case to invoke its inherent powers vested by Section 482 CrPC and quash all the criminal proceedings pending against the petitioner including the impugned FIR with regard to the audio clip, which allegedly contains a conversation between the petitioner and one Nissar Ahmed Khan,” Justice Kumar observed.
On June 18 last year, the Kargil police received information through reliable sources that an audio clip containing objectionable conversation, demeaning the armed forces, in the backdrop of clashes between Indian Army and armed forces of China that took place in Galwan Valley of Ladakh region, has gone viral on social media.
Taking cognisance of the information received, the police registered the subject FIR and set the investigation into motion. During the investigation, it was established that the audio clip of 6.3 minutes duration that had gone viral on social media contained a conversation between the petitioner and one Nissar Ahmad Khan.
The Court ruled that to make out the offence of sedition, it is necessary to demonstrate that alleged acts have the tendency or intention to create public disorder or disturb public peace.
Justice Sanjeev Kumar ruled that the controversial comments made by Hussain, though unsavoury and detestable, did not constitute sedition under Section 124A, the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or attract the offences under Sections 153-A, 153-B, 505(2) and 120-B of the IPC.
"Undoubtedly, in the conversation, the petitioner has demeaned the Indian Forces and eulogized the armed forces of China in the context of recent Galwan valley conflict between the two nations. It is equally true that the conversation contained in the audio clip, which was circulated on the social media by the co-accused Nissar Ahmed Khan, does bring into contempt the government established by law in India, but unless the conversation has the tendency or intention of creating public disorder or disturbance of public peace by incitement to an offence, the same would not be sedition to attract the applicability of Section 124A or for that matter Section 153A or 153B IPC” the Court said.
