New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought to know how shouting 'Jai Sri Ram' inside a mosque is an offence, while it agreed to examine a plea challenging an order passed by the Karnataka High Court, on September 13, 2024, quashing an FIR lodged against two men for raising the slogan.
The matter came up before a bench comprising Justices Pankaj Mithal and Sandeep Mehta. The bench said it would not issue notice on the petition filed by complainant Haydhar Ali CM and told his counsel, senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, to serve the petition on the state counsel. The bench has scheduled the matter for further hearing in January 2025.
During the hearing, Kamat contended that the High Court had interdicted the investigation within 20 days of lodging the FIR.
The bench observed, "The accused were shouting religious prayer, is that an offence?” The bench noted that the High Court said that it does not touch the ingredients of the offences.
Kamat contended that it is an offence under Section 153A of the IPC. Kamat stressed that the question was if this kind of thing is permitted?
The bench asked as to who filed the complaint and also, how the accused were identified?
The bench was informed that the accused were seen on CCTV. The bench further queried that if the accused were found around, does it mean they were involved?
The bench was hearing a plea challenging the Karnataka High Court’s decision to set aside criminal proceedings against two men accused of raising ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans inside a mosque in Karnataka.
The plea by Haydhar Ali, through advocate Javedur Rahman, contended that the High Court order is in the teeth of the judgments of the apex court berating quashing of criminal proceedings even before the investigation could be completed when the complaint/ FIR prima facie discloses the commission of cognizable offences.
"The High Court has adopted a very pedantic approach in quashing the criminal proceedings by merely embarking upon an examination as to whether the ingredients of the offences mentioned in the F.I.R. were met or not," said the plea.
The plea said it is most deferentially submitted that such uncalled-for and unjustified observations by the High Court will give a fillip to anti-social elements, who in recent times have been seen to be resorting to such religious and devotional chants to justify gruesome crimes like mob lynching and targeted attacks upon the minorities across the country.
The plea said the remarks made by the High Court that shouting 'Jai Sriram' cannot outrage the feelings of any class is totally unjustified in the facts of the present case. “The observation of the High Court that shouting 'Jai Sriram' will not outrage the religious feelings of any class and the incident by no stretch of imagination can result in antimony, itself shows that the occurrence of the incident cannot be denied, at least at this stage," said the plea.
The case stems from a September 2023 incident at the Badriya Juma Masjid in Dakshina Kannada, where two men allegedly entered the mosque premises, chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’. It has been claimed that they threatened members of the Muslim community, stating they “will not let Bearys (or Byari, a Muslim community) live in peace.”
An FIR was registered under Sections 447, 295A, 505, and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), covering charges such as criminal trespass, deliberate insult to religious sentiments, public mischief, and criminal intimidation.
