The Supreme Court docket on Monday prolonged its interim keep on the proceedings towards Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a case registered towards him for allegedly making objectionable remarks towards the BJP and the Congress in Uttar Pradesh through the 2014 parliamentary election marketing campaign.
Kejriwal has moved the apex court docket towards an order of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad Excessive Court docket which had final month declined to discharge him within the prison case pending earlier than a trial court docket at Sultanpur.
Within the FIR, Kejriwal has been accused of an offence below part 125 of the Illustration of the Folks (RP) Act, 1951, which pertains to selling enmity between lessons in reference to elections.
A bench of Justices Okay M Joseph and B V Nagarathna posted the matter for listening to within the first week of Could after nobody appeared for the respondents. “Interim order to proceed,” the bench mentioned. Senior advocate A M Singhvi appeared for Kejriwal within the matter.
Kejriwal had allegedly mentioned, “Joh Congress ko vote dega, mera maanna hoga, desh ke saath gaddari hogi…. Joh Bhajapa (BJP) ko vote dega use Khuda bhi maaf nahin karega (Those that will vote for the Congress shall be betraying the nation, and the God won’t forgive those that will vote for the BJP).”
In his plea filed within the apex court docket by way of advocate Vivek Jain, Kejriwal has mentioned the petition raises some vital questions of regulation, together with whether or not a case below part 125 of the Act may be made out with out there being any video clip or full transcript of the alleged speech made by the accused.
The plea mentioned it has been alleged that in an election marketing campaign on Could 2, 2014 for the Lok Sabha polls, Kejriwal, whereas delivering a speech, had uttered some sentences which quantity to fee of offence below part 125 of the Act. The plea mentioned two days after the alleged utterances by the AAP chief, on Could 4, 2014 a grievance was filed within the matter.
“Although the mentioned belated grievance alleged violation of solely the Mannequin Code of Conduct, nevertheless, the police as an alternative registered the FIR on the exact same day below part 125 RP Act. This was achieved with none unbiased inquiry by the police. This clearly exhibits the biasness and the motion taken post-haste by the police,” it mentioned.
The plea mentioned it’s the petitioner’s case that there isn’t a proof or proof that he had in reality made such alleged utterance and therefore, the very fundamental foundational proof to prosecute him is absent within the matter. It additional mentioned, “Merely mentioning of God (Khuda) can not quantity to selling enmity and hatred between completely different lessons of residents.”
“Alleged utterance by the petitioner doesn’t discuss with any specific caste or faith and therefore, by no stretch of creativeness such an alleged utterance can promote the sensation of enmity or hatred amongst completely different lessons of residents,” it mentioned.
The plea mentioned Kejriwal had not referred to any faith or caste however solely a political occasion and a political occasion can’t be thought of as a “class of residents” for the needs of part 125 of the Act.
