Munmun Kaur
Published On: January 27, 2022 at 13:02 IST
Recently, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court Quashed a First Information Report (FIR) registered against a man for a Facebook post that labelled late Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat as “Mercenary of the Fascists”.
The facts of the case are that on the demise of Gen. Rawat, the Petitioner had posted on Facebook- “It is disgrace to shed tears for Dictator Bipin Rawat, the mercenary of the fascists.” After this post, an FIR was registered against him for the Offences of wantonly giving provocation between different groups, promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes, and intentional insult.
Justice GR Swaminathan, hearing the matter observed that making an uncivil remark directed against a particular individual on social media in the facts and circumstances of the case would certainly not lead to the situation contemplated by Section 153 of Indian Penal Code.
The Court further observed that the Petitioner’s post did not involve two groups therefore, the Accusation of promoting Enmity could not be established.
The Court observed that the essential ingredients constituting the Offences of Sections 153, 504, and 505(2) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) were absent in the case. As a result, the impugned FIR was not maintainable and hence, was Quashed.
Although, before deciding on the merits of the case, Justice Swaminathan made critical remarks on the Petitioner’s conduct. He stated that the demise of Gen. Rawat was nothing short of a National Calamity. Before parting with the Order, the Judge had a quotation for the petitioner, “The evil of hatred is not of a nature to be desired by one even in sport.”