BENGALURU: The High Court of Karnataka on Friday stayed the First Information Report (FIR) and further proceedings against Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shobha Karandlaje for allegedly promoting feelings of enmity between the people of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The court also stayed two more FIRs and further proceedings against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya for allegedly disturbing peace and promoting enmity between two communities.
Justice Krishna S Dixit stayed the proceedings after hearing a petition by Karandlaje, questioning the legality of the FIR registered against her by Bengaluru’s Cottonpet police for her speech based on a complaint by the head of the Flying Squad for Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency.
Justice Dixit also heard the petitions filed by Surya, questioning the validity of two FIRs registered against him by Halasuru Gate police for allegedly disturbing peace during a protest at Nagarthpet in the city against the attack on a shopkeeper on March 19.
‘Plaint politically motivated ahead of LS polls’
The FIR against Karandlaje was registered on March 20 under the provisions of the Representation of People Act for her alleged hate speech. The FIR stated that her speech violated the Model Code of Conduct.
Advocate Venkatesh P Dalwai, representing Karandlaje, argued that her speech never influenced any person to vote on the lines of caste, religion, community, class or language to attract the provisions invoked against her. The complaint is politically motivated ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
The election official filed the complaint without applying his mind, he argued. Advocate P Prasanna Kumar, representing Surya, argued that the charges of unlawful assembly will not attract legal action because there were no orders restraining the assembly of people at the protest place.
The FIR aimed at tarnishing Surya’s image and abusing the process of law, he argued. Another FIR was registered against Tejasvi for his alleged hate post on ‘X’. Kumar contended that Tejasvi was implicated in the case with a political motive.
