The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an FIR lodged by Gujarat Police against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi for sharing an edited video with an inflammatory song. The court said that freedom of expression is an integral part of democracy.
In this regard, the bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan said that it is the duty of the court to protect the fundamental rights of citizens.
The judges said, "Even if a large number of people dislike the views expressed by someone, the right of the person to express his views should be respected and protected. Literature including poetry, drama, film, satire and art make human life more meaningful."
The Congress leader had challenged the order of the Gujarat High Court dated January 17, in which his plea to quash the FIR lodged against him was rejected, saying that the investigation was still in the initial stage. A case was registered against Pratapgarhi on January 3 for allegedly posting an inflammatory song on social media in the backdrop of a mass marriage ceremony held in Jamnagar city.
At the same time, Pratapgarhi was booked under sections of the Indian Justice Code related to promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, race etc. This 46-second video clip shows that when Pratapgarhi is walking waving his hands, flowers are being showered on him and a song is heard in the background.
Regarding this song, it has been said in the FIR that such lyrics were used in it which are inflammatory, harmful to national unity and hurt religious sentiments.
Prakash Kumar Pandey
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