The police on Wednesday informed the Kerala High Court that a criminal case has been registered against Bharatiya Janata Party State president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai for allegedly making a hate speech against the Muslim community at an election meeting of National Democratic Alliance candidate in the Attingal Lok Sabha constituency Sobha Surendran.

The submission was made when a petition filed by CPI(M) leader V. Sivankutty seeking a directive to the State Police Chief (SPC) to register a crime against Mr. Pillai came up for hearing. The government pleader also submitted that an effective investigation was in progress. The case was registered for offences under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 295A (insulting religion or religious beliefs) and Section 298 (uttering words to wound the religious feelings of any person) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

According to Mr. Sivankutty, the speech by Mr. Pillai was intended to create communal disharmony by referring to a religious custom of Muslims. The words used were meant to cause distress to the Muslim community and to appease the fundamentalist elements in his own party.