The Supreme Court accorded protection from arrest to Aam Aadmi Party MP, Sanjay Singh, in all the FIRs lodged against him for delivering “hate speech” at his press conference conducted in Lucknow, UP.
The court also issued notice asking whether all the FIRs filed against AAP MP could be clubbed or not.
The bench, however, recommended an alternative remedy to UP Government for approaching the Rajya Sabha Chairman for imposing sanctions under Section 196 of CrPC, as Sanjay Singh is a Rajya Sabha member.
Sanjay Singh, in his press conference held on 12.08.2020, made certain statements wherein he alleged that UP State Government’s acts are favouring a particular caste,
Consequently, FIRs were lodged against him in various districts of UP under Sections 153-A, 153-B, 501, 505(1) and 505(2) of IPC.
Upon investigation, chargesheet was filed and the State government accorded sanction for prosecution under Section 196 of CrPC. The order to summons was challenged before Allahabad High Court.
An SLP was filed by the petitioner which dismissed the challenge raised against the Allahabad HC’s order.
Subsequently, Sanjay Singh filed a writ petition and sought quashing of FIRs filed against him as they had been filed with malicious intention and followed same verbatim across several districts.
He also submitted that press conference is a medium whereby an individual can exercise right envisaged under Article 19(1)(a), and that was being unlawfully restricted by the state machinery of UP.
The Apex Court has listed the next hearing in the month of March as this matter needs to be decided expeditiously.
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