The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed the first information report (FIR) registered against the Principal of Indore’s New Government Law College for promoting Hinduphobia and anti-India propaganda after certain books were found in the college library.
A bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta said that the allegations in the FIR were absurd since the books in question could be found even in the Supreme Court library. The Court further questioned why the state was so keen to persecute the accused, Professor Inamur Rehman, adding that he was already out on anticipatory bail. The court mentioned that the books in the library are about syllabus.
The apex court was hearing an appeal by Prof Rehman against a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that had refused an interim stay on the FIR and adjourned by ten weeks the hearing in the plea filed by the professor for quashing the case.
It was reported that the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Syayamsevak Sangh (RSS), resorted to protests over what they claimed was Hinduphobic books in the library of the Shasakiya Navin Vidhi Mahavidyalaya (New Government Law College) in Indore.
Authored by Dr Farhat Khan, titled ‘Collective Violence and Criminal Justice System’ and ‘Women and Criminal Law’ are the two books in question. Notably, one of the books has a passage examining the Hindu society’s treatment of women, with the claim that Hindu women were instruments of lust fulfillment in a male-dominated world and that scriptures revealed how they were subservient to men.
A FIR was lodged against Prof Rehman for promoting enmity between communities and other offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on a complaint by an LLM student at the college who had links to the ABVP. The accusations led to faculty suspensions, Prof Rehman’s resignation and a police case.
Earlier in December 2022, the Supreme Court had stayed the Professor’s arrest. During the hearing today, the counsel for the appellant pointed out that the professor was due to retire soon.
Nonetheless, counsel for the State of Madhya Pradesh opposed interim relief and said that the Section 482 CrPC proceedings before the High Court could instead be expedited, as the charges were serious.
However, the Court said that the High Court failed to exercise its power under Section 482 CrPC. The court ordered that the single judge has failed to exercise jurisdiction vested in him under 482. Therefore, it allowed the appeal and set aside the FIR.