Breaking: Hate Slogans By Child In PFI Rally- Kerala HC Says Persons Who Organised Rally Should Be Implicated As Accused

The Kerala High Court has held that, prima facie, the persons who organised the PFI/SDPI rally in Allapuzha District of Kerala are also responsible for the hateful slogans raised by a child during the event.

Justice P. V. Kunhikrishnan has held so while closing a writ petition filed prior to the event, seeking prohibition of the event.

"If a member of a rally raise provocative slogans, the persons who organize the rally is also responsible. If a rally is conducted, it is the duty of the leaders to control the members of the rally. Whether the members of the rally raised the slogan with the knowledge of the leaders or whether there is any connivance between the leaders who organized the rally with the persons who raised provocative slogans is a matter to be investigated by the police. Prima facie, they are responsible", the Bench held.

The Court held that the organisers should be implicated as accused in the case and the police should investigate the matter. The Court, however, clarified that the Police should investigate the matter untrammelled by the observation in the Judgment.

In a rally by the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its political wing, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) on May 21, a child had raised slogans containing death threats toward Hindus and Christians.

The Kerala police had registered an FIR under Sections 153-A, 295-A, 505(1)(b), 505(1)(c), 505(2), 506 and 34 of the IPC and Section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act, 2011 after the video went viral, on the complaint of Adv. Vijayakumar P.K and after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights took cognizance of the matter.

The FIR was registered against the District President and Secretary and other identifiable persons of the PFI.

The Writ Petition was filed by R.Ramaraja Varma, a senior citizen and a retired professor residing in Allapuzha District seeking direction to prohibit rallies proposed to be conducted in the District by the Popular Front of India and the Bajrangdal.

However, both the events were held as fixed during the pendency of the Writ Petition since the Court did not pass any interim order prohibiting the events, but had only passed an interim direction to maintain the law and order situation. The Court had refused to pass any interim order since the organisations PFI/SDPI and Bajrangdal were not arrayed as respondents in the petition.

"The recent attacks and the subsequent inflammatory speeches will reveal that entire district of the Alappuzha is still volatile to communal clashes. Unless the programs scheduled by the Popular Front of India and Bajrangdal is prevented, there is every chance for communal clashes", the Petitioner had said in his Petition filed through Advocate Sreekumar Chelur, referring to the murder of Advocate Ranjith Sreenivasan and the murder of SDPI leader K. S. Shan.

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