The Supreme Court of India on Friday has dismissed Writ petition filed by Congress Leader from Haryana, Pankaj Punia who was arrested by police in Karnal for allegedly “hurting religious feelings” and “promoted enmity between different groups on ground of religion” through his tweet on social media.
Punia in his tweet, had targeted the Yogi Adityanath’s government in Uttar Pradesh, referring to the politics over plying of buses by the Congress for ferrying migrants. Therefore, the complaint was filed under sections 295-A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings, 153-A Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, etc, 153 provocations with intent to cause a riot, 504 and 505 IPC, and relevant sections of Information Technology Act.
The case was heard by three judges bench comprising of Justice Arun Mishra, Justice S. Abdul Nazeer & Justice Indira Banerjee had said that “We are not inclined to entertain this petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India. The writ petition is, accordingly, dismissed”.
Although, the liberty was granted to the petitioner to approach the concerned High Court/appropriate Forum.
-India Legal Bureau