- Monday, March 31, 2025
The video carried the recitation of a poem uploaded on X by the Congress MP and it was alleged to carry words that pitted communities against one another aside from hurting religious sentiments
By: India Weekly
THE SUPREME COURT has said words of a poem recited in the background of a clip uploaded by Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi did not promote disharmony or hatred but encouraged people to desist from resorting to violence and face injustice with love.
In an affidavit before the Gujarat High Court, the Congress leader said the poem in question, based on publicly available information, including searches on ChatGPT, belonged to either Faiz Ahmed Faiz or Habib Jalib.
The video carried the recitation of a poem uploaded on X by the Congress MP and it was alleged to carry words that pitted communities against one another aside from hurting religious sentiments.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan on Friday (29) said the poem had nothing to do with religion, caste, community or any particular group.
“The poem’s words do not bring about or promote disharmony or feelings of hatred or ill-will. It only seeks to challenge the injustice made by the ruler. It is impossible to say that the words used by the appellant disturb or are likely to disturb public tranquility,” the bench said.
The court went on, “By no stretch of imagination, does it promote enmity between different groups. We fail to understand how the statements therein are detrimental to national unity and how the statements will affect national unity. On its plain reading, the poem does not purport to affect anyone’s religious feelings.”
Referring to Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the court said neither clause (a) nor clause (b) of the provision are attracted.
The bench observed Pratapgarhi was not accused of organising any exercise, movement, drill or similar activity.
“There is no allegation against the appellant that he uttered the words in any place of worship or in any assembly engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies,” the court said.
“75 years into our republic, we cannot be seen to be so shaky on our fundamentals that mere recital of a poem or, for that matter, any form of art or entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, can be alleged to lead to animosity or hatred amongst different communities,” the court added.
He put a video of a mass marriage function, and in the background, the words were uttered, therefore, Section 196 had no application, it said.
The Congress MP challenged the January 17 order of the Gujarat High Court which dismissed his petition for quashing the FIR filed against him, saying investigation was at a nascent stage.
Pratapgarhi, among other offences, was booked on January 3 under Section 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, race, etc.) and 197 (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The 46-second video clip, uploaded by Pratapgarhi on X, showed him being showered with flower petals as he walks waving his hands and a song plays in the background which the FIR alleged to carry provocative lyrics, detrimental to national unity and hurt religious feelings.
Criticising the Gujarat High Court for refusing to quash the FIR, the bench reminded the courts and the police of their duty to protect constitutional rights.
“The courts are duty-bound to uphold and enforce fundamental rights. Sometimes we, the judges, may not like the spoken or written words, but… we are also under an obligation to uphold the Constitution and the respective ideals,” the top court said. (Agencies)
