Sloganeering Bharath Matha Ki Jai Would Only Lead To Harmony & Never A Discord: Karnataka HC Quashes FIR U/S 153A IPC

The case stemmed from an incident on June 9, when the petitioners, returning from the oath ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were reportedly assaulted by a group of 25 individuals. The petitioners claimed that this group questioned them about their use of the slogan "Bharath Matha Ki Jai," with two of the petitioners sustaining stab wounds during the altercation. That same night, the petitioners filed a complaint, resulting in the registration of an FIR.

However, the following day, a man lodged a counter-complaint against the petitioners, alleging that they had threatened him and others near a mosque, demanding they leave the country. In response, the petitioners approached the High Court to challenge this FIR.

A Bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna said, “Section 153A makes it an offence if enmity is promoted between different groups of religion. The present case is a classic illustration of misuse of Section 153A of the IPC. It is a case of counterblast to a complaint registered by these petitioners. The defence is that the petitioners were shouting Bharath Matha Ki Jai and praising the Prime Minister of the nation. The allegation by the complainant does not even refer to any of those things. To protect the skin of the complainant and others, the skin of the petitioners is sought to be ripped off. It does not meet even a single ingredient of Section 153A of the IPC. A pure case of counterblast is sought to be projected as a crime under Section 153A of the IPC. The ingredients that are necessary to bring home the complaint under Section 153A need not detain this Court for long or delve deep into the matter.”

Senior Advocate M. Aruna Shyam appeared for the Petitioners and Advocate B.N. Jagadeesh appeared for the Respondents.

The Court remarked, "This case is a classic example of the misuse of Section 153A of the IPC." It clarified that the petitioners were simply expressing nationalistic sentiments by shouting "Bharath Matha Ki Jai" and supporting the Prime Minister, and that the complainant's allegations did not reference these actions.

Citing various legal precedents, including those from the Supreme Court, the Court asserted that allowing any investigation into this case would effectively permit scrutiny of the petitioners for their patriotic slogans, which could not be construed as inciting disharmony or enmity between religions.

The High Court added, “In the light of the afore-narrated facts and the judgments extracted supra, permitting even investigation into the case at hand would be prima facie permitting investigation into the sloganeering of Bharath Matha Ki Jai inter alia, which can by no stretch of imagination be promoting disharmony or enmity amongst religions. Sloganeering Bharath Matha Ki Jai would only lead to harmony and never a discord.”

The Court thus quashed the FIR against the petitioners.

Cause Title: Suresha & Ors. v. The State of Karnataka & Anr., [2024:KHC:38865]

Appearance:

Petitioners: Senior Advocate M. Aruna Shyam, Advocate Suyog Herele E.