Be careful while using terms that can be misinterpreted, says High Court

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 27

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asserted that the “celebrities”, in particular, were required to be careful in usage of any term which can be misinterpreted.

The assertion came as Justice Amol Rattan Singh directed that coercive action would not be taken against cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who was seeking the quashing of an FIR registered against him at the Hansi police station under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and SC/ST Act for allegedly making “casteist remarks”.

Justice Amol Rattan Singh made it clear that the interim direction was subject to the outcome of the investigation and the reply to be filed in the matter. In his detailed order, Justice Amol Rattan Singh added that the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention and Atrocities) Act, 1989, was a legislation enacted to safeguard the interests of a section of society known to be oppressed since ages.

“Naturally, any violation of the provisions of the said Act has to be dealt with strictly to try and ensure that a sense of wellbeing is instilled in such sections of society, towards which every person, and ‘celebrities’ in particular, should be careful in the usage of any term which can be misinterpreted,” Justice Amol Rattan Singh said.

Appearing before Justice Amol Rattan Singh’s Bench, senior advocate Puneet Bali and Vibhav Jain contended that the petitioner and his colleague Rohit Sharma were having a live chat on a social media platform in April 2020. In the video, Yuvraj Singh mentioned about two fellow cricketers in a friendly manner. Bali added that the two were colleagues and friends of the petitioner. It was never the petitioner’s intent to disrespect them or any community during the conversation.

NO COERCIVE ACTION AGAINST YUVRAJ

• The assertion came as Justice Amol Rattan Singh directed that coercive action would not be taken against cricketer Yuvraj Singh
• The cricketer was seeking the quashing of an FIR registered against him for allegedly making “casteist remarks”
• Justice Amol Rattan Singh made it clear that the interim direction was subject to the outcome of the investigation and the reply to be filed in the matter

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