Prophet Muhammad row: All FIRs against expelled BJP leader Naveen Jindal to be clubbed in Delhi
His comments, along with those of Nupur Sharma, had led to a spate of violence and unrest across several parts of the country in June.
The Supreme Court on Friday directed that all cases against expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Naveen Kumar Jindal pertaining to his disparaging remarks about Prophet Muhammad be transferred to the Delhi Police, Live Law reported.
A bench of Justices MR Shah and MM Sundresh directed that all the cases should be transferred to the Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit. The judges also allowed Jindal to move the Delhi High Court to seek quashing of the first information reports against him.
“No precipitative action or further FIRs against the accused for eight weeks so he can pursue his appropriate remedy before the Delhi High Court,” the court said, according to PTI.
On June 1, Jindal had posted a disparaging tweet about Prophet Muhammad. The tweet, along with comments made by now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on the news channel Times Now, had led to a spate of violence and unrest across several parts of the country in June.
The comments also led to diplomatic outrage from a number of Gulf countries. Two men – one in Maharashtra and another in Rajasthan – were killed for supporting Sharma.
On Friday, Senior Advocate Geeta Luthra, appearing for Jindal, told the bench that the court had earlier clubbed FIRs against Sharma and a Times Now anchor as well. She argued that the complaints against Jindal were substantially similar.
Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee agreed to the request to club the cases in Delhi.
The BJP, while terminating Jindal’s primary membership in June, said that his remarks vitiated communal harmony and were in violation of the party’s fundamental beliefs.
The expelled BJP leader said on June 5 his remarks were not aimed at hurting the religious sentiments of any community, He claimed that he had only questioned those “who spread hatred by making derogatory comments about our gods and goddesses”.