Disposed

Himalval Bhadrananda @ Bhadranandaji v. the State of Kerala

Kerala HC2 Mar 2020Crl.MC/425/2020

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court held that the FIR based on Section 153(A) IPC regarding alleged Facebook posts inciting communal feelings cannot be quashed prematurely as the case was still under investigation. The officer was directed to consider the accused's defense regarding lack of communal enmity before filing the final report.

What did the court decide?

The Court directed the investigating officer to consider the petitioner's submissions on communal enmity before filing the final report; the Crl.M.C. was then disposed of.

Himalval Bhadrananda @ Bhadranandaji Vs… — Constitutional and Fundamental Rights | Kerala HC (2020)

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

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PRESENT

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THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHOK MENON

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MONDAY, THE 02ND DAY OF MARCH 2020 / 12TH PHALGUNA, 1941

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Crl.MC.No.425 OF 2020(C)

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CRIME NO.1846/2016 OF Ernakulam North Police Station, Ernakulam

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PETITIONER/ACCUSED:

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HIMALVAL BHADRANANDA @ BHADRANANDAJI AGED 36 YEARS, S/O. HEMACHANDRAN, 550B, KUNNUMPURAM LANE, BAPPUJI NAGAR, PONGUMMODU, SREEKARIYAM P.O., THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - 695 011.

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BY ADV. SRI.S.CHANDRASEKHARAN NAIR

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RESPONDENTS/COMPLAINANT:

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1 THE STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM, KOCHI - 682 031.

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2 STATION HOUSE OFFICE, ERNAKULAM TOWN NORTH POLICE STATION, ERNAKULAM, KOCHI - 682 018.

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OTHER PRESENT:

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SRI.HRITHWIK C.S., SR.PP

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THIS CRIMINAL MISC. CASE HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 02.03.2020, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING:

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Crl.M.C.No.425 of 2020

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O R D E R

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Dated this the 2nd day of March 2020

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The petitioner is the accused in Crime

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No.1846/2016 of Ernakulam Town North Police Station.

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His contention is that F.I.R. has been registered

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against him for allegedly committing offence under Section 153(A) of I.P.C. The further contention of

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the petitioner is that even if the prosecution case as stated in the F.I.R. and F.I.S. is believed to be true that his Facebook posts is inciting the feeling of any community, there is no reference to any other community. To attract an offence under Section

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153(A) of I.P.C. it is essential that there must be

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an intention on the part of the accused to promote enmity between the two communities. The learned

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Counsel for the petitioner relies on the decision of

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the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Manzar Sayeed Khan v.

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State of Maharashtra, 2007 KHC 3326 in support of his

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contentions. Annexure A2 contains certain Facebook

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posts in which the petitioner had allegedly made

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Crl.M.C.No.425 of 2020

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certain comments regarding a particular community.

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But according to the accused he has not promoted enmity between the two communities and therefore Section 153(A) will not be attracted. The case is still under investigation and the final report is yet to be filed. Therefore, it is premature at this point in time to quash the F.I.R. The investigating officer is directed to go into these factors as pointed out by the learned Counsel for the petitioner before filing the final report. With these observations, the Crl.M.C. is disposed of.

Sd/-

ASHOK MENON

JUDGE

dkr

Crl.M.C.No.425 of 2020

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APPENDIX

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PETITIONER'S/S EXHIBITS:

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ANNEXURE A1 COPY OF THE FIR IN CRIME NO. 1846/2016 DATED 22.11.2016 OF TOWN NORTH POLICE STATION. ANNEXURE A2 COPY OF THE LETTER DATED 21.11.2016 AND SOME OF THE PHOTOCOPIES OF THE FACEBOOK PROFILE.

Himalval Bhadrananda @ Bhadranandaji v. the State of Kerala

Case brief

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Himalval Bhadrananda @ Bhadranandaji v. the State of Kerala

Case brief

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