Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court Friday quashed a case of sedition against Bidar’s Shaheen School filed over a students’ play.
Karnataka police had filed a sedition case was against the management of Shaheen Group of Institutions for making its school children enact an anti-NRC skit in January 2020.
The police filed sedition case alleging that students used derogatory language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and officials.
The police had also arrested headmistress of the school and mother of one of the student who were later released on bail.
Justice Hemant Chandangoudar of the Karnataka High Court however quashed the sedition case against the school saying the remarks against the Prime Minister were derogatory but not seditious.
The court also said the ingredients of Section 153 (A) (causing disharmony between religious groups) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) are not found in the case.
"The utterance of the abusive words that the Prime Minister should be hit with footwear is not only derogatory, but is irresponsible. The constructive criticism of the government policy is permissible, but the Constitutional functionaries cannot be insulted for having taken a policy decision, for which, certain section of the people may have objection," Justice Chandangoudar said in his judgement.
The High Court noted that "the play was enacted within the school premises. There are no words uttered by the children inciting people to resort to violence or to create public disorder."
The HC said the play came to public knowledge when one of the accused uploaded the play on his social media account.
"Hence, at no stretch of imagination it can be said that the petitioners herein enacted the play with an intention to incite people to resort to violence against the government or with the intention of creating public disorder," it observed.
"Therefore, the registration of the FIR for the offence under Section 124A (Sedition) and Section 505(2) in the absence of essential ingredients is impermissible", the court said.
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