Chennai: The Madras High Court observed that raising 'fascist BJP down' slogan is not an offence, while quashing the FIR lodged against Lois Sophia, arrested for raising slogans against the BJP government on board a flight in the presence of former Tamil Nadu BJP president and current Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan.
Justice P Dhanabal of the Madurai bench noted that Sophia had only raised the slogan “Fascist BJP” and those words did not constitute any offence and were trivial in nature. Further, the court noted that there was nothing in the chargesheet to attract the offence of public nuisance under Section 290 of IPC.
Present state president of Tamil Nadu BJP and intervenor in the case K Annamalai contended that the police failed to register a case under the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act 1982.
However, the court noted that the said Act would not be attracted since no violence was committed by Sophia and the mere uttering of the word was not likely to endanger the safety of the aircraft.
Police failed to follow procedure
Interestingly, the court also noted that the FIR was initially registered under Section 209 IPC (Public Nuisance) and Section 75 of the Tamil Nadu City Police Act (Penalty for drunkenness or riotous or indecent behaviour in public places), both being non-cognizable offences.
However, Section 505(1)(b), which is a cognizable offence, was later hand-written into the printed FIR without any averments in the complaint.
Noting this, the Magistrate also refused to remand Sophia for the offence under Section 505(1)(b) of IPC and had remanded her only for the offences under Section 290 of IPC and Section 75(1)(c) of Tamil Nadu City Police Act.
The court also noted that Thoothukudi District, where the FIR was registered, was not listed under the Tamil Nadu City Police Act and thus, Section 75 of the Act could not be invoked. Thus, the court observed that the charge against Sophia, to that extent was also liable to be quashed.
Thus, finding that the act done by Sophia did not attract any offence, the court allowed her plea to quash the proceedings.
(With LiveLaw inputs)
