BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against a man accused of raising the slogan ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ during a demonstration organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), observing that it was highly unlikely for participants at a BJP rally to deliberately raise such a slogan.
Justice V Srishananda, accepted the possibility that the slogan may have been raised inadvertently, with the word ‘Zindabad’ being uttered instead of ‘Murdabad’.
The Court held that the continuation of criminal proceedings against the petitioner, DS Ravi Kumar, would amount to an abuse of the process of law, particularly in the absence of evidence establishing that the alleged slogan had resulted in social unrest or disturbance.
“At the outset, in a demonstration organized by the Bharathiya Janatha Party-a Political Party, It is highly unimaginable that the protesters therein would raise the slogan 'Pakistan Zindabad'. It is in that context that the argument of the petitioner needs to be considered that in the flow of raising the slogans by mistake the words Zindabad has crept in instead of Murdhabad,” the court observed.
The judgment came on a petition filed by Ravi Kumar seeking to quash criminal proceedings pending before a trial court in Mandya. The proceedings stemmed from a complaint alleging that participants at a BJP demonstration had raised the controversial slogan.
Background of the case
The incident dates back to December 18, 2022, when a demonstration allegedly organised by BJP supporters was held in Mandya West, Karnataka.
According to the complaint filed by Kannambadi Kumar, participants at the demonstration raised the slogan ‘Pakistan Zindabad’. The complainant further claimed that watching a video of the incident caused him mental distress.
Based on the complaint, Mandya West Police registered a case in 2024 against Ravi Kumar under Sections 153B and 505(1)(b) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Section 153B IPC deals with imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration, while Section 505(1)(b) concerns statements capable of causing public mischief by creating or promoting fear or alarm among the public.
The criminal proceedings subsequently reached the trial court in Mandya, prompting Ravi Kumar to approach the High Court seeking their quashing.
Ravi Kumar, represented by advocate Vinod Kumar M, argued that the alleged slogan was neither intentional nor aimed at disturbing public order.
The petitioner's counsel submitted that the words were uttered inadvertently in the heat of the protest, with the intended slogan being ‘Pakistan Murdabad’.
It was further argued that there was no intention to create social unrest, disturb public peace or target any particular community.
The High Court examined the circumstances surrounding the demonstration, the allegations in the complaint and the material collected during the investigation.
Justice Srishananda noted that the complaint had been lodged nearly two years after the alleged incident and was based on a video circulated.
The Court also observed that the investigation had failed to establish the identities of the other participants in the demonstration.
More importantly, it found that the material on record did not demonstrate that the alleged slogan had resulted in social unrest, disturbance among a particular community or any disruption of public order.
Concluding that the allegations and the material collected during the investigation did not justify the continuation of criminal proceedings, the Karnataka High Court allowed Ravi Kumar's petition.