Supreme Court grants interim protection to man accused of communal remarks

File pic.

The Supreme Court on Monday granted interim protection from coercive action until 14th July to Wazahat Khan, who filed a complaint against social media influencer Sharmistha Panoli for allegedly making communal remarks in a video, reported news agency PTI.

A bench comprising Justices K.V. Viswanathan and N. Kotiswar Singh passed the order while hearing a plea by Khan, who faces FIRs across several states, including West Bengal.

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The bench noted that Khan had already been arrested by West Bengal Police and was in custody.

According to PTI, his counsel stated that the FIRs and complaints against Khan were registered in various states for his old tweets, which were alleged to have hurt religious sentiments.

After the bench agreed to hear his plea, his counsel sought no further coercive action against his client until the next date of hearing.

"Having considered the prayer, we are inclined to grant the same," the bench stated.

As an interim measure, the top court ruled that until the next hearing on 14th July, no coercive action should be taken against the petitioner pursuant to the FIRs or complaints referred to in the petition, or any other FIRs or complaints that may be lodged against him in connection with similar allegations.

"There is a famous Tamil saying. It must be there in Telugu also. A wound inflicted by a fire may heal but not a wound inflicted by the tongue," the bench observed, according to PTI.

Khan was arrested by Kolkata Police on 9th June. He moved the apex court, alleging that FIRs and complaints had been lodged against him in several states, including Assam, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Haryana, for certain old tweets he had made.

He argued that these FIRs were in retaliation to a complaint he had filed against Panoli, who was arrested and later released on bail.

"I have deleted all of them and apologised," his counsel said, submitting that Khan was perhaps "reaping what he has sown."

His counsel further argued that the first FIR, according to the petitioner, was dated 2nd June.

He also referred to a number of previous judgments and orders of the apex court in which orders to consolidate FIRs, either in one state or multiple FIRs filed in a state, to the state concerned, were passed.

The bench agreed to hear the plea and issued notice to the Centre and the states of West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Haryana.

The matter is scheduled to be heard on 14th July.

Khan, arrested by the Kolkata Police earlier in June, was booked in the case for offences under the BNS, including promoting enmity between different groups based on religion, race, and insults or attempts to insult religion.

An FIR was registered against him at the Golf Green Police Station in south Kolkata for allegedly promoting hate speech and hurting religious sentiments through his social media posts.

According to PTI, the other charges levelled against him included provoking a breach of peace and making statements conducive to public mischief.
Panoli, a 22-year-old law student, was arrested by Kolkata Police from Gurugram in Haryana on 30th May after a video she uploaded on social media drew widespread outrage.

She was booked by Garden Reach Police Station in Kolkata on 15th May.

The Calcutta High Court granted her interim bail on 5th June.

Khan, the primary complainant against Panoli, had registered a complaint against the influencer for offences including malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings, leading the police to lodge a case against her.

In the video, Panoli allegedly used abusive language and made communal remarks while criticising a section of Bollywood celebrities for their silence on 'Operation Sindoor'.

(With inputs from PTI)