Court orders FIR against Geelani, Roy
A Delhi court on Saturday directed the police to register an FIR against Hurriyat Conference faction leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, writer Arundhati Roy and others for allegedly delivering anti-India speeches during a programme in the national capital on October 21. The court, ticking off the police for failing to take action, said that at the stage of registration of an FIR the only thing the police has to see is whether the contents of a complaint disclosed a cognisable offence.
Passing the order, metropolitan magistrate Navita Kumari Bagha said that after giving consideration to the submissions made and the material put on record, the court had come to the conclusion that the complaint lodged with the police clearly disclosed commission of cognisable offences. The court asked the police to conduct an investigation and file a status report on January 6, 2011, the next date of hearing.
The FIR will be registered under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and also the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act pertaining to waging war against the government of India, sedition, promoting enmity between classes and making remarks against the integrity of the nation.
Apart from Mr Geelani and Ms Roy, the other accused named in the petition include Delhi university professor S.A.R. Geelani and a professor from Jammu and Kashmir, Sheikh Showkat Hussain.
The court took strong exception to the dilly-dallying by the police in connection with the allegations. “It is settled law that at the stage of registration of the case the police has to only see if the complaint before it disclosed any cognisable offence or not,” the court said, citing several Supreme Court judgments. It pointed
out that despite being given till November 26, the police came up with a “weird” reply neither admitting nor rejecting the content of the complaints.
The court rejected the contention of the police, which admitted that the totality of the speech made by Mr Geelani was regarding the independence of people of Jammu and Kashmir, but refused to register an FIR on the grounds of lack of motive and evidence of malafide intention. The police in its report had said that “no incident of violence, disturbance or disaffection towards the government of India has come to light ... no case was made out.” But the court rejected this.
The petitioner, Kashmiri activist Sushil Pandit, had alleged that Mr Geelani and Ms Roy had made anti-India speeches at the conference “Azadi — The Only Way” on October 21. Ms Roy had termed India as “colonial” and an “upper caste Hindu state”, the petitioner had alleged.
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