New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (March 18) refused to stay trial court proceedings against BJP MLA and Delhi law minister Kapil Mishra for allegedly posting “communally polarising” messages on social media ahead of the 2020 Delhi assembly elections.
“There is no need to stay the trial court proceedings. The trial court is at liberty to proceed further with the matter,” said Justice Ravinder Dudeja, while granting four weeks to the police to file a response before the next hearing date of May 19, reported The Hindu.
The case pertains to a show-cause notice by the Election Commission of India to Mishra for his various statements on X (formerly Twitter) including his assertion that the February 8, (the date of polling) “will be India vs. Pakistan in Delhi.”
Thereafter, an FIR was subsequently registered against Mishra under Section 125 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act (promoting enmity between classes of citizens) and he was summoned by a magisterial court.
Earlier this month, a sessions court had dismissed the plea of the Karawal Nagar MLA against the summons and expressed “complete agreement” with the magisterial court order.
The magisterial court had rejected Mishra’s argument that his statements did not refer to any specific caste, community or religion, stating that the “implicit reference” to a particular “religious community” was unmistakable.
“The word ‘Pakistan’ is very skilfully weaved in his alleged statements to spew hatred, careless to communal polarisation that may ensue in the election campaign, only to garner votes,” special judge Jitendra Singh had observed on March 7 while dismissing his plea.
“The implicit reference underlying the particular ‘country’ in the alleged statement is an unmistaken innuendo to persons of a particular ‘religious community’, apparent to generate enmity amongst religious communities. This can be effortlessly understood even by a layman, let alone by a reasonable man,” he had added.
