Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, May 21: The Karnataka government has informed the High Court that a chargesheet has been filed in a special court against MLA Harish Poonja in connection with a case related to communal hate speech.
The case pertains to an FIR registered at Uppinangady police station. The vacation bench of Justice S Rachaiah on Tuesday heard the petition filed by Poonja seeking to quash the FIR and subsequent legal proceedings.
Poonja’s legal counsel argued that the matter falls under the jurisdiction of a special court and that the petitioner is a sitting legislator. They stated that while the FIR was registered at Uppinangady and submitted to the court, no official records had been made available to them. They also contended that the chargesheet was filed in haste within a very short time. Although the police have the liberty to file a chargesheet, they argued that the process followed was improper. They urged the court to ensure that no coercive action is taken and requested a copy of the chargesheet.
Additional Special Public Prosecutor B N Jagadeesh, representing the state, submitted that the investigation has been completed and the chargesheet has been submitted to the competent court by the investigating officer. Since the chargesheet has already been filed, he said Poonja must either file a fresh petition or amend the current one. Jagadeesh also clarified that he did not have a copy of the chargesheet to provide at the moment.
The counsel for the complainant S B Ibrahim argued that Poonja had been involved in at least seven previous cases. They requested the court to consider the language used by the MLA in public forums and referred to a public statement made by Poonja after the current case was registered, in which he had reportedly said, “Let the government file 100 more cases—I am not someone who gets scared.” They submitted that such communal speeches are inciting violence and accused Poonja of "spitting venom."
The court, after hearing all parties, directed Poonja’s counsel to submit a revised petition and adjourned the hearing to May 22.