Punjab and Haryana HC quashes FIRs against Tajinder Bagga, Kumar Vishwas

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday quashed two separate FIRs against Delhi-based BJP leader Tajinder Singh Bagga and former AAP leader Kumar Vishwas. The Punjab Police had booked Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga on the charges of making provocative statements, promoting enmity and criminal intimidation at Mohali in April. Mr. Vishwas, was booked under sections of the IPC pertaining to promoting enmity between groups, criminal conspiracy, and publishing or circulating news with the intent to create enmity on the grounds of religion or race. He accused Arvind Kejriwal of supporting Kahlistani separatists during the Punjab assembly elections campaign in April 2022.

The court asserted the continuation of criminal proceedings would amount to an abuse of the process of law. BJP leader Bagga had moved the High Court while challenging the non-bailable arrest warrant issued against him by a Mohali Court in May.

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While pronouncing the judgment in the Bagga case, Justice Anoop Chitkara said the court had seen all the tweets and posts placed on record by the parties.

"There is no allegation that the petitioner had posted such tweets by entering the state of Punjab, or any incident had taken place within its territories due to such tweet. Every post of the petitioner will not give territorial jurisdiction to the state of Punjab to investigate in the guise of the present FIR.

"Had the investigating agency of another state been given that much leverage, it would impact the federal structure under the Indian Constitution, where every state has the right to maintain law and order within its territorial boundaries," Justice Chitkara observed.

"Even otherwise, a perusal of such tweets shows that same are part of a political campaign. There is nothing in the investigation that the petitioner`s statement created or would have created any communal hatred.

"Thus, even if all the allegations made in the complaint and subsequent investigation from social media posts, are true and correct at face value, they would not amount to hate speech, and no case against the petitioner is made out," Justice Chitkara said.

"In the peculiar facts and circumstances, it is a fit case where the continuation of criminal proceedings shall amount to an abuse of the process of law, and the court invokes its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 CrPC and quashes the FIR," said the judge.

(With IANS inputs)