Case against Pramod Muthalik for alleged provocative speech quashed

Karnataka High Court gives its judgment on 2017 case

Apart from the Police officer, there is no other independent witness and nothing objectionable was found in the video recording, hence case is quashed.

Mr Pramod Muthalik

Bengaluru (Karnataka) – The Karnataka High Court has quashed case registered against Mr Pramod Muthalik, founding President of Sri Ram Sene and a staunch devout Hindu, in connection with his alleged inflammatory speech in 2017. In a programme organised on the occasion of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti celebration, Mr Muthalik had addressed the gathering. At that time, the Police officer present had registered a case against Mr Muthalik, accusing him of making provocative remarks.

As per case registered by the Police, Mr Muthalik had commented on the difference in the treatment of cows between Hindus and Muslims and called for cutting off hands of those who kill the cow.

On this, Police registered a case under Section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 295-A (disrespecting religious beliefs and religion) of Indian Penal Code.

Mr Muthalik appealed in Karnataka High Court to quash the case. He said that the offence registered against him did not fall under Section 196 (prosecution for offences against the State) of Cr.P.C. Also, only the Police officer’s statement has been recorded during the speech. Statements of independent witnesses have not been recorded.

After studying the chargesheet filed in this regard, the High Court stated that, “even after watching the video recording of the event, nothing objectionable was found in Mr Muthalik’s speech. Along with this, without the previous sanction by the State Government, no offence can be registered under Section 153-A of IPC and Section 295-A of IPC.” Hence, the Court ordered to quash the case against Mr Muthalik.

Editorial Viewpoints

Court quashing the case proves that the offence reported was wrong. Therefore, patriots think that the Court should also take action against the Police who filed this case.