The Allahabad High Court rejected quashing criminal proceedings against the State President of the Muslim Personal Law Board, Noor Ahmed Ajahri, revolving around a video that went viral. In the viral video he could be seen alleging that the BJP-ruled states attempted to intimidate Muslims and had “trampled the Constitution.”
Justice Saurabh Srivastava ruled that at the preliminary stage, the allegations could be brushed aside. He said that they were sufficient to justify the continuation of criminal proceedings.
“By bare perusal of the narrations made in the FIR, wherein it has been mentioned that the applicant is accused of spreading religious excitement and communal feelings among a particular community, which has the effect of creating hostility among people. The allegations also suggest that such actions may provoke people, out of hatred towards the government, to engage in rioting and disturbances, which can disturb public peace and order, and as such, at this stage, it cannot be said that, prima facie, no case is made,” observed the court, as the bar and bench reported.
The proceedings started from the first information report, which was registered at Puranpur police station in Pilibhit in 2023, subsequently resulting in a chargesheet and a magistrate’s order asking the applicant to face trial.
The police received the footage where Ajhari spoke about gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf in April 2023.
Ajahri alleged that the killings were the result of a conspiracy under the regime of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He further said that the BJP had “trampled the Constitution into the ground.”
The police later registered an FIR stating that his remarks could result in disturbed public order.
The FIR was initially registered under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different religious, racial, or other groups) and Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). However, on further probe, the police filed a chargesheet under Section 505(2) IPC (making statements that promote enmity, hatred, or ill will between communities).
Meanwhile, Ajahri said the views he expressed were only during public discussion, and they did not have any criminal intent of promoting hatred.
Further alleging that the fair investigation was not conducted, he claimed that the magistrate summoned him to face trial without a proper examination of the material placed before the court.
However, the state opposing the plea said that Ajahri’s claims had factual issues and could be examined only during trials.
