Sandeep Kudale, a member of the Congress party, was the subject of two FIRs that the Bombay High Court dismissed on Monday. The court also ordered the State to pay the police officer’s salary for unlawful arrest fees of Rs. 25,000. Both FIRs were dismissed and costs were levied by the division bench of Justice Prithviraj K. Chavan and Justice Revati Mohite-Dere in the case of Sandeep Kudale V. State of Maharashtra ( Case No. WPST/21880/2022)
FACTS OF THE CASE :
In response to Chandrakant Patil, the state minister for higher education, comments about Dr. BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Kudale were detained on December 11, 2022, by the Pune Police under sections 153A(1)(a) and 153A(1)(b) of the IPC (promoting animosity between different groups).
In a police report filed at the Kothrud Police Station, Kudale was accused of inciting animosity between various groups through a video he posted on social media in response to a statement made by minister Chandrakant Patil about how Dr. BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Jyotiba Phule started schools by pleading for donations. The FIR further claimed that Kudale recorded a video while standing outside Patil’s home, and that the posts fostered animosity towards Patil.
The FIR is false, and the alleged offences are not supported, according to Kudale’s attorneys Subodh Desai and Lokesh Zade. He had also maintained that Kudale was the subject of identical FIRs. Due to a possible political vendetta between the complainant, a member of the BJP, and Kudale, a member of the Congress Party, Kudale had claimed in his argument that there was a chance of false accusations. The petition claimed that the purported hostility must exist between two or more communities, but section 153A is not invoked by the mere mention of another community. Kudale’s appeal further asserts that there was no mens rea to sow discord among various tribes and communities of people.
JUDGEMENT:
Police personnel should be aware of the repercussions of their acts, said Justice Dere, who noted that there had been a violation of the court’s directives. especially when there is no evidence to support arresting someone. She stated that there were numerous other instances like this. The judge continued, cutting off the potential of pressure to register cases, “Officers should learn to say no.”
Judge Dere said that if this attitude persisted, the costs would be increased. The bench held that the Congress worker’s comments did not violate Section 153A of the IPC because they were obviously directed at the Minister’s allegedly disparaging remarks about Dr. Ambedkar on social media.
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JUDGEMENT REVIEW BY SREYA MARY.
