The Supreme Court in the case Pawan Khera v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Anr observed and seek response from the Uttar Pradesh governments in the plea moved by the Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera for quashing of criminal proceedings initiated against him over an alleged remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The bench comprising of Justice BR Gavai and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra in the case was hearing the special leave petition against an order of the Allahabad High Court wherein the court refused to quash the criminal proceedings initiated against Khera over his alleged ‘Narendra Gautam Das Modi’ comment made at a press conference in Mumbai.
The counsel, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Congress leader, pointed to Khera’s clarification that the comment had been made inadvertently and his prompt apology being issued in a separate post on X, which was formerly known as Twitter.
Further, the counsel, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi stated while taking the court through the charges levelled against Khera, which include that of defamation, attempting to degrade and destabilise the nation, promoting enmity and hatred between different groups and disturbing public peace.
Singhvi exclaimed that, it was not the intention at all. They have completely stretched it.
The bench headed by Justice Gavai stated that this bench summarily agreed to issue notice on Khera’s plea, at the very outset of the hearing. When Singhvi pressed for the ongoing trial against the Congress spokesperson to be stayed. In the present case, the Congress leader and spokesperson Pawan Khera has been embroiled in a controversy over his ‘Narendra Gautam Das Modi’ remark at a press conference in February this year. Thus, the same may led to multiple first information reports which is registered against him and the Assam police arresting him in the same month. Therefore, Khera is facing charges under Section 153A, promoting communal enmity, Section 153B, imputations prejudicial to national integration, Section 500, defamation, Section 504, insult with intent to provoke breach of peace and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
The court while considering the facts and circumstances of the case observed and has issued the notice on interim relief.