‘Highly unimaginable’: Karnataka HC quashes case against BJP members over ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogan

The Karnataka High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against certain Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members accused of raising the “Pakistan Zindabad” slogan during a protest, observing that it was highly unlikely that members of the party would have raised such a slogan, LiveLaw reported.

Justice V Srishananda accepted the petitioners’ explanation that the slogan was allegedly a slip of the tongue, with “Pakistan Zindabad” being raised instead of “Pakistan Murdabad”.

“At the outset, in a demonstration organized by the Bharathiya Janatha Party-a Political Party, It is highly unimaginable that the protesters therein would raise the slogan ‘Pakistan Zindabad’. It is in that context that the argument of the petitioner needs to be considered that in the flow of raising the slogans by mistake the words Zindabad has crept in instead of Murdhabad,” the court observed.

The High Court was hearing a petition filed by Dr S Ravi Kumar seeking to quash a criminal case pending before the Principal Senior Civil Judge and CJM at Mandya.

The case was registered by the West Police Station, Mandya, under Sections 153B and 505(1)(B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), following a complaint by an individual named Kannambadi Kumar, LiveLaw reported.

What was the BJP protesters’ Pakistan Zindabad slogan controversy?

According to the complaint, BJP members organised a protest on December 18, 2022, during which some protesters allegedly raised the “Pakistan Zindabad” slogan.

The complainant claimed that hearing the slogan had disturbed him mentally and sought action against those involved.

The petitioner argued that the slogan was unintentional and that there was no intention to create unrest in society or target any particular community.

Maintaining that the words were a slip of the tongue, the petitioner sought the quashing of the criminal proceedings.

The State, however, opposed the plea, arguing that the video submitted by the complainant clearly showed that the words “Pakistan Zindabad” had been used.

It contended that the investigation should be allowed to continue.

The State also submitted that the protest had been organised against an objectionable statement made by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister and alleged that the petitioner had raised the slogan with the intention of creating unrest in society.

Why did Karnataka High Court quash the criminal case?

The High Court noted that the complaint had been filed solely on the basis of a video recording, nearly two years after the alleged incident.

It also observed that the investigating agency had been unable to identify the individuals who participated in the demonstration or establish whether raising the alleged slogans had resulted in any repercussions or consequences.

The court held that continuing the criminal proceedings would be unnecessary and amount to an abuse of the process of law.

It also noted that prior sanction had not been obtained before initiating prosecution under Section 505 of the IPC.

Taking these factors into account, the Karnataka High Court decided to quash the criminal case against the petitioners.