The Allahabad High Court Thursday declined to quash the FIR against Hindu Mahasabha leader, Ashok Kumar Pandey, for passing communal slurs against Aligarh Muslim University and its Founder Sir Saiyed Ahmad Khan.
A division bench of Justices Manoj Kumar Gupta and Rajendra Kumar-IV found that the allegations prima facie disclosed the commission of a cognizable offence under Sections 153-A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.), 153-B( Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration.) and 505(2) [Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes.] of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The bench also refused to grant a stay of the arrest.
Ashok Pandey was booked by the Aligarh police for terming AMU students as ‘terrorists’ and calling the institution ‘a seminary for terrorists’ in an interview.
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The article was originally published in The Leaflet.
