High Court declines to quash FIR against Meghalaya journalist for Facebook post
Shillong: The Meghalaya High Court has refused to quash a police complaint against veteran journalist Patricia Mukhim for her Facebook post which allegedly incited communal tension between the tribal and the non-tribal communities in the state.
Disposing of a petition filed by Mukhim, a Padma Shri awardee and the editor of The Shillong Times newspaper, Justice W Diengdoh said that the investigation agency should be given a free hand to probe into the matter.
"In the event, the investigating agency is required to be given a free hand to investigate the matter and to come to its own conclusion in due process of law.
"Consequently, I find no merit in the instant petition for exercising powers under Section 482 CrPC. This petition is accordingly hereby rejected," the judge said in the November 10 order.
Mukhim had hit out at the Lawsohtun village "dorbar" (council) on Facebook for failing to identify the "murderous elements" after five boys were attacked at a basketball court in July this year.
Eleven people were picked up and two were arrested in the case.
"There is an attempt to make a comparison between tribals and non-tribals vis--vis their rights and security and the alleged tipping of the balance in favour of one community over the other.
"This in the opinion of this Court would fall on the mischief of Section 153 A (a) IPC as it apparently seeks to promote disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between two communities," the court said.
Despite repeated attempts, Mukhim could not be reached for comment.
The police complaint was filed against Mukhim by the village council on July 6 for her post on the social media, alleging that her statement incited communal tension and might instigate communal conflict.
She was subsequently booked under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc. and other provisions of the IPC.
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UP court rejects plea seeking Rahul Gandhi's voice sample in defamation case
Sultanpur (UP) (PTI): A local MP/MLA court on Saturday rejected a plea seeking a voice sample of Rae Bareli MP Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed by a BJP functionary against the Congress leader, and posted the matter for next hearing on May 11.
The plea, filed by BJP leader Vijay Mishra through his counsel Santosh Kumar Pandey, had sought Gandhi's voice sample for a forensic test to compare it with an audio clip.
After the petition was dismissed, Pandey said they would file a revision plea before the sessions court against the order.
The court rejected the plea after hearing the arguments of both sides, including Gandhi's counsel Kashi Prasad Shukla.
The matter dates back to 2018 when Mishra, a local BJP leader, filed a defamation suit over Gandhi’s alleged objectionable remarks targeting Amit Shah while campaigning for the Karnataka Assembly elections.
After five years of legal proceedings, the court issued a warrant against Gandhi in December 2023.
The Rae Bareli MP surrendered before the court in February 2024, and was granted bail on two sureties of Rs 25,000 each by a special magistrate.
On July 26 last year, the Congress leader recorded his statement before the court, claiming innocence and calling the case a political conspiracy.
Earlier this year, multiple hearings were postponed due to a strike by lawyers and the ill-health of Gandhi’s counsel.
