Varanasi, May 27 An Uttar Pradesh MP-MLA Special Court in Varanasi rejected a complaint seeking registration of an FIR against Rahul Gandhi for his ‘Lord Ram fictional’ remark made in the US last month, said a lawyer on Tuesday.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Neeraj Kumar Tripathi junked the complaint, holding that it was not maintainable due to a lack of sanction from the Lok Sabha Speaker to proceed against Gandhi, an MP from Rae Bareli.
The petition was filed by Advocate Harishankar Pandey, urging the court to direct registration of an FIR for referring to Lord Ram as a "mythological and fictional character."
Sharing details of the court order, made available on Tuesday, Pandey said the court admitted that the remarks were made but rejected the complaint on the grounds of maintainability.
“I plan to file a revision petition after considering the grounds on which I will approach the Lok Sabha Speaker for sanction to proceed against Rahul Gandhi,” he said.
He claimed in his complaint that the Congress leader made the remark on April 21 during an interaction at Brown University in Boston, representing a wilful attempt to denigrate religious beliefs and create communal discord.
The complainant accused Gandhi of referring to Lord Ram as a "mythological and fictional character," calling it hate speech that offended the sentiments of followers of Sanatan Dharma.
Pandey had also named the All India Congress Committee (AICC) as a respondent, claiming that the powerful decision-making body of the Congress could not escape responsibility for its leader’s remarks.
The court had earlier accepted Pandey’s complaint and decided to take it up for hearing on May 19.
After the filing of the complaint, notices were sent to Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajai Rai, who is a resident of Varanasi.
In his petition, Pandey had alleged that Gandhi’s remarks amounted to committing penal offences related to promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion under section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
He also sought action against Gandhi under BNS section 351, which deals with criminal intimidation and section 353, dealing with public mischief.
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