Khushi Bajpai
Published on: August 31, 2022 at 21:07 IST
Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have opposed a Public Interest Litigation seeking registration of FIR against them for alleged hate speeches given during the Anti CAA-NRC protests which led to the 2020 Delhi riots.
The Congress leaders filed their replies before the Delhi High Court opposing a PIL filed by NGO lawyers voice, which also sought constitution of an independent SIT to investigate the matter. The court had earlier allowed the applications seeking implement of concerned political leaders.
Both the congress leaders have told the court that no allegations under Section 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) of the Indian penal code can be made against them and that they were selectively picked up, giving way to a larger conspiracy behind the exercise.
“The acts have fallen on independent, non-conformist sections and leaders of the opposition parties. Meanwhile, a series of speeches made by the members of the ruling party, which squarely fall within the gambit of the sections the petitioners seek to invoke against the answering respondent, have been conveniently left out by the petitioner, revealing the colored nature of the exercise,” the replies said.
The petition filed by Brinda Karat seeks independent investigation into the complaints alleging acts, offences and atrocities by members of the police, RAF or state functionaries in relation to the riots.
In December last year, the Supreme Court asked the Delhi High Court to decide expeditiously, preferably within three months, on one of the petitions seeking FIR and investigation against politicians.