New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (February 10) questioned a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Gujarat Police against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi for allegedly posting an edited video of a provocative poem on social media.
A bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was hearing an appeal filed by Pratapgarhi against the Gujarat High Court order refusing to quash proceedings against him.
The bench said the High Court did not appreciate the meaning of the poem.
What did the apex court say?
“It’s ultimately a poem. It is not against any religion. This poem indirectly says even if somebody indulges in violence, we will not indulge in violence. That’s the message which the poem gives. It is not against any particular community,” the bench told the counsel representing the Gujarat government.
The bench deferred the matter for three weeks after the Gujarat government counsel sought time to file a response.
The bench asked the state government counsel to apply mind and come back to the court.
Apex court on January 21 stayed proceedings
The top court on January 21 stayed proceedings against the Congress MP.
The apex court, while staying the proceedings against Pratapgarhi, issued notice to the state government of Gujarat and complainant Kishanbhai Deepakbhai Nanda on Pratapgarhi’s appeal against the order of the High Court.
Congress MP uploaded a video on social media
A video uploaded by Pratapgarhi on social media during a mass marriage function he attended in Jamnagar, Gujarat showed flower petals being showered at him as he walks waving his hands with a background song.
An FIR was registered against Pratapgarhi
An FIR was registered against Pratapgarhi on January 3 by the Gujarat police alleging that the lyrics of the background song in the uploaded video were provocative, detrimental to national unity and hurting religious feelings.
Pratapgarhi moved High Court seeking quashing of FIR
Pratapgarhi approached the High Court seeking quashing of the FIR, claiming the poem being recited in the background of the video carries “a message of love and non-violence” and that the FIR by the Gujarat Police is based on frivolous and unsubstantiated grounds and a bare perusal of the FIR reveals that certain words were being taken out of the context.
The High Court refused to quash the FIR, saying further investigation is required into the case that the investigation is at a very nascent stage.
