BENGALURU: Dalit activist and MLA of Vadagam constituency in Gujarat, Jignesh Mevani, will have to face trial for an alleged provocative speech he made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 2018 assembly elections held in Karnataka. The Karnataka High Court on Friday refused to quash the chargesheet filed under Section 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot) and Sec 117 (abetting commission of the offence) of IPC by the Chitradurga police before a local court.
While partly allowing the criminal petition filed by Mevani and T Safiulla, Justice Aravind Kumar quashed the proceedings initiated under IPC Section 188 (disobedience to order promulgated by public servant) but refused to do so regarding the other two charges.
In his petition challenging the chargesheet, Mevani contended that if the entire speech is read as a whole, there is no provocation to the audience to commit any crime and there was no intention to disturb Modi’s public meeting, but only made an attempt to highlight the failure of the Modi government. The police have filed the chargesheet without application of mind. They have not carried out a purposeful investigation, the petition said.
Mevani is accused of making a provocative speech against Modi at a public meeting organised by Karnataka Komu Sauharda Vedike at Chitradurga on April 6, 2018.
The local police registered an FIR based on the complaint filed by the Flying Squad Officer. Subsequently, on June 19, 2018, police filed the chargesheet before the JMFC court.