LAWS(KAR)-2024-2-83

BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY Vs. RIZWAN ARSHAD

Decided On February 22, 2024
BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY Appellant
V/S
Rizwan Arshad Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner is a registered and recognized national political party. It is invoking the inherent jurisdiction of this court u/s.482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 seeking quashment of Criminal Proceedings in C.C.No.28124/2022 for the offence of defamation punishable u/s.500 of Indian Penal Code, 1860. The said proceedings are pending on the file of learned 42nd ACMM Court, Bangalore (ie., Special Court for the trial of cases of MPs/MLAs). The petitioner along with another happen to be accused therein.

(2.) (1) The respondent herein had filed a private complaint in PCR No.41/2019 dtd. 22/5/2019 alleging that the accused had tweeted certain matter that are grossly defamatory of him. The said tweets are as under:

(3.) The petitioner-political party is not a 'person', the same being only a 'society' or 'association of persons'; such entities do not fit into the word 'whoever' employed in both the Sec. 499 & 500 of IPC and therefore, the proceedings of the kind are not maintainable. Secondly, a bare perusal of the complaint does not reflect the commission of any offence much less the one in question; Even otherwise, the complaint does not generate confidence in the mind of court; allowing the said proceedings to continue amounts to abuse of process of the court. That being the position, the same is liable to be quashed in terms of law declared by the Apex Court in STATE OF HARYANA vs. BHAJAN LAL, AIR 1992 SC 604.