The Supreme Court on Monday criticised the Gujarat Police for filing a first information report against Congress member and Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi in response to a poem he posted on social media platform Instagram, reported Live Law.

Pratapgarhi is known for his protest poetry that particularises the Muslim experience and identity in India and other parts of the world.

The poem he had posted on was titled Ae Khoon Ke Pyaase Meri Baat Suno (“Oh Bloodthirsty, Listen to Me”).

On January 3, Pratapgarhi was booked by the Jamnagar Police in Gujarat on charges of promoting enmity between different groups based on religion and race, making statements harmful to national integration and insulting religious groups by posting the poem along with a video, which was widely shared on social media.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, hearing a petition by Pratapgarhi challenging the Gujarat High Court’s refusal to quash the FIR, noted that the police had not properly understood the true meaning of the poem.

“Please see the poem,” Oka told Advocate Swati Ghildiyal, who was appearing for the state government. “The [High] Court has not appreciated the meaning of the poem. It’s ultimately a poem.”

Oka said: “This poem indirectly says even if somebody indulges in violence, we will not indulge in violence. That’s the message which the poem gives. It is not against any particular community.”

The bench adjourned the case for three weeks at the request of the state government’s counsel. “Please apply your mind to the poem,” Oka added. “After all, creativity is also important.”

The court had previously granted interim relief to Pratapgarhi, staying all further actions related to the FIR.

On January 17, the Gujarat High Court refused to quash the FIR citing the need for further investigation and Pratapgarhi’s alleged non-cooperation with the police. The court said that the poem’s content could disturb social harmony, noting that citizens, particularly MPs, must act in ways that preserve communal and social peace.

Also read: Meet Imran Pratapgarhi, the rockstar poet who draws tens of thousands of fans at Urdu mushairas