UP govt defends Allahabad HC order in hate speech case against CM

Satya Prakash
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 25

The Uttar Pradesh government has defended before the Supreme Court an Allahabad High Court order upholding its decision to deny sanction to prosecute Chief Minister Adityanath in a decade-old hate speech case.

In an affidavit filed in the top court, the state government said: “After analysing complete records and in the light of the legal opinion received, the Home Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh reached the decision that there is no justification to grant sanction for prosecution. Accordingly, the CBCID closed the matter.”

The Supreme Court had on August 20 last year asked the Uttar Pradesh government to respond to a petition filed by Parwej Parvaz challenging a February 22, 2018, Allahabad High Court order accepting the state’s decision to decline sanction to prosecute Chief Minister Adityanath in a hate speech case.

It was on Parvaz’s plea that a magistrate court in Gorakhpur had on November 2, 2008, ordered registration of a criminal case against Adityanath for alleged hate speech that caused riots. Contending that the state police investigation was shoddy and unscientific, he had demanded an impartial probe into the case against the chief minister.

The Uttar Pradesh Principal Home Secretary had in May 2017 opined that the draft probe report of the CBCID did not have sufficient evidence to prosecute Adityanath. Also, the Central Forensic Science Laboratory had concluded that the CD provided by the complainant against Adityanath and four others was tampered with, the official had said while declining sanction to prosecute those named in the complaint.

The petitioner had contended that the decision was vitiated as the Home Department was under the chief minister who could not be a “judge in his own cause”. He alleged the video-recording of the alleged speech was available on YouTube.

The Allahabad High Court had dismissed the petition against denial of sanction to prosecute Adityanath.

Now, the state government has defended the denial of sanction before the top court. “The order of the sanctioning authority was based upon opinion received by Law Department stating that in the absence of evidence there is no justification to grant sanction for prosecution…the Hon’ble High Court has passed a well-reasoned order,” it said, adding there was no illegality involved in the process.

The affidavit reiterated that the order had been passed by the competent authority after full agreement with the opinion given by the Law Department as well as the entire material placed before the authority and therefore the present petition was liable to be dismissed.

“The petition against the impugned judgment may not be entertained in view of the fact that well reasoned order of the Hon’ble High Court is passed after due consideration of original records of the case,” the state government said seeking dismissal of the petition.

The case pertained to a 2007 incident in the Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh when Adityanath was a Member of Parliament. The FIR said that on January 27, 2007, on the occasion of Satvi Moharram, on a call was given by Adityanath, members of right-wing outfit Hindu Vahini, traders and businessman started assembling and raising slogans.

It said that at about 10 am that day, the agitators set several properties ablaze, damaged religious books and indulged in destructive activities at the Imam Chowk in Gorakhpur. To disperse the agitating mob, the police fired several rounds in the air.