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

New Delhi, January 25

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.