Supreme Court stays Swami Prasad Maurya’s arrest over ‘Ramcharitmanas’ remarks

New Delhi, January 25

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The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed criminal proceedings against Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya who allegedly made objectionable remarks about ‘Ramcharitmanas’, a sacred Hindu text based on the Ramayana.

“Why do you have to be so touchy? It’s his opinion… It’s a matter of interpretation. How is it an offence?” a Bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta asked the Uttar Pradesh Government counsel.

Why so touchy?

Why do you have to be so touchy? It’s a matter of interpretation. How is it an offence? SC Bench

While staying the proceedings in the case, the Bench issued a notice to the state government asking it to respond to Maurya’s petition challenging the Allahabad High Court’s order dismissing his plea for quashing the proceedings before a court at Pratapgarh.

Maurya, an MLC in Uttar Pradesh, had allegedly said certain verses by saint-poet Tulsidas in ‘Ramcharitmanas’ were against women, Dalits and other backward classes.

An FIR was lodged in Pratapgarh district last year against Maurya and others on a complaint by local resident Santosh Kumar Mishra.