CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat has moved the Delhi High Court against a trial court order which rejected her plea for lodging an FIR against Union Minister Anurag Thakur and MP Pravesh Verma for their alleged hate speeches in relation to anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh here.
The petition is likely to come up for hearing before Justice Yogesh Khanna on Thursday.
The trial court had on August 26 rejected her plea for registration of FIR against the BJP leaders on the ground that the requisite sanction from the competent authority, the Central government, was not obtained.
The trial court had stated that prior sanction of competent authority – Central government – is required as per section 196 the Code of Criminal Procedure at the stage of ordering of registration of FIR as both Mr. Thakur and Mr. Verma are MPs.
Ms. Karat’s plea contended that when the State and the police have pointedly excused the speeches of the accused and other persons, the only recourse available to her was judicial.
The judicial recourse has been barred by the trial court without considering that the very State that is supportive of the accused persons would function as the Sanctioning Authority, the plea argued.
Ms. Karat had sought registration of FIR against Mr. Thakur and Mr. Verma under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.