The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the criminal writ petition against BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra and ABP News, alleging a conspiracy hatched by them against innocent farmers, to implicate them as terrorists and hooligans by running fake news and propaganda on the news channel debate.
Advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, the petitioner, had submitted that a person cannot be alleged as a terrorist out of the definition as provided under the law, therefore empty-handed farmers cannot be called terrorists. The allegations are false and all actions based under so-called allegations are illegal and persons alleged said are liable to be prosecuted u/s 182 and 211 of IPC.
Sharma had sought directions to the Centre to direct the National Investigation Agency to register an FIR against Sambit Patra and ABP News and others under Sections 211 and 182 of IPC r.w. 120-b & 107 of IPC. He asked the court to prosecute them in accordance with law for declaring false allegation and charge, filing false FIR with NIA against innocent farmers under false concocted conspiracy hatched by them to fix them under criminal conspiracy to abuse them as terrorists for their political object i.e. derail farmer protest against farmer bills.
The petitioner has annexed the photo of the incident that had taken place on Republic Day at Red Fort where some persons allegedly removed the national flag and hoisted their own flag in place of it. The petition stated that within the photo, it was proved that no one removed the national flag at Red Fort (as can be seen in P-2). A false concocted criminal allegation has been imposed upon the farmer. However, a person who waves a religious flag at Red fort at different points other than the National flag is close to the Prime Minister as can be seen on P-3, said the petition.
Also Read: Supreme Court refuses PIL seeking judicial inquiry into tractor rally violence
The petitioner further contended that farmers conducted a tractor rally on various fixed routes but was not displayed in any TV channel, no farmer was having any weapon/ arm explosive. “The Delhi Police have not made such an allegation so far. How can an empty-handed farmer be called a terrorist? What reporters and BJP spokespersons have been shouting on each TV channel and press that these are not farmers, they are terrorists.”