16 Oct 2023 6:53 AM GMT
The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Uttar Pradesh government's response to a plea by Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera for quashing of criminal proceedings against him over an alleged remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra was hearing a special leave petition against an order of the Allahabad High Court refusing to quash the criminal proceedings against Khera over his alleged 'Narendra Gautam Das Modi' comment made at a press conference in Mumbai.
On the last occasion, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Congress leader, pointed to Khera's clarification that the comment had been made inadvertently and his prompt apology issued in a separate post on X, which was formerly known as Twitter. "Second, and more importantly, see the stretching of the sections," Singhvi continued, taking the court through the charges levelled against Khera, which include that of defamation, attempting to degrade and destablise the nation, promoting enmity and hatred between different groups, and disturbing public peace. "This was not the intention at all. They have completely stretched it," Singhvi exclaimed.
Today, the bench summarily agreed to issue notice on Khera's plea, at the very outset of the hearing. When Singhvi pressed for the ongoing trial against the Congress spokesperson to be stayed, Justice Gavai said, "Issue notice on interim relief."
Background
Congress leader and spokesperson Pawan Khera has been embroiled in a controversy over his ‘Narendra Gautam Das Modi' remark at a press conference in February this year. This led to multiple first information reports being registered against him and the Assam police arresting him in the same month. Khera is facing charges under Sections 153A (promoting communal enmity), 153B (imputations prejudicial to national integration), 500 (defamation), 504 (insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
On February 23, the Assam police arrested Khera from the Delhi airport in relation to an FIR registered over the remark.
On the same day as his arrest, the Supreme Court granted Khera temporary relief and directed his release on interim bail till the next date of hearing. The interim relief was later extended from February 28 to March 3, and again till March 17.
The Congress spokesperson also approached the Allahabad High Court seeking the quashing of the summons order and chargesheet filed against him. He also tendered alongside an unconditional apology for the purported incident. The high court, however, declined to grant him any relief and dismissed his plea. Justice Rajeev Singh observed that the evidence collected by the investigating officer could not be assessed by the court during the ongoing proceedings under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Proceedings. The court also directed Khera to raise all contentions before the jurisdictional court, in terms of the Supreme Court's March 20 directive.
Case Details
Pawan Khera v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr. | Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 13143 of 2023