The Supreme Court on Monday critically examined the actions of the Gujarat Police regarding an FIR filed against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi. The FIR was based on allegations that Pratapgarhi posted an edited video featuring a provocative song. The court raised questions about the Gujarat High Court’s earlier decision to dismiss Pratapgarhi’s petition to quash the FIR, suggesting that the lower court may not have fully understood the content of the poem in the video.
Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, presiding over the bench, highlighted the underlying message of the poem, noting, “It’s ultimately a poem. It is not against any religion. 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.”
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Pratapgarhi, argued that the High Court’s order was “bad in law” as it had done “violence” to the law. The apex court has postponed the matter for three weeks, granting the state’s counsel additional time to prepare a response.
The controversy centers around a 46-second video clip uploaded by Pratapgarhi on social media platform X. The clip shows him being showered with flower petals while a background song plays, which the FIR alleges contained provocative lyrics detrimental to national unity and potentially hurtful to religious sentiments. In response, Pratapgarhi contends that the poem recited in the video promotes messages of love and non-violence.
In his plea to the Supreme Court, Pratapgarhi asserts that the FIR was filed with “malicious intent and malafide motives,” arguing that his post did not provoke enmity between groups and that the allegations were taken out of context.
Public Prosecutor Hardik Dave maintained that the words of the poem incited rage against the state, defending the FIR and the necessity of the legal actions taken. The Gujarat High Court had previously noted the serious social repercussions indicated by responses from the community following the post, emphasizing the disturbance to social harmony.
