Mallikarjun Kharge : Congress President Kharge Gets Major Relief, Court Dismisses Petition in 'That' Case

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The Tis Hazari Court in Delhi has given a major relief to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge by dismissing the criminal petition filed against him. A member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had filed the petition against Kharge. The petition alleged that Kharge made derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Modi during an election rally in Naregal, Karnataka, in April 2023.

The court stated that Kharge's statement was not directed at any community or religion, but was focused solely on political and ideological principles. The court also clarified that the speech did not incite violence.

What is the case?

This issue also arose in December 2024, when the court refused to direct the registration of an FIR against Mallikarjun Kharge. The complainant, RSS member Ravinder Gupta, accused Kharge of delivering a hate speech against BJP and RSS at an election rally in Karnataka. After considering the Action Taken Report (ATR) of the Delhi Police, the court refused to direct the registration of an FIR on December 9, 2024. At that time, the court granted the complainant the liberty to present pre-summoning evidence (PSE).

What did the court say in its decision?

The court stated in its decision that, according to the law, only harsh and offensive criticism cannot be considered 'hate speech' unless it is intended to create hatred between two groups. The court also clarified that prima facie, the offense of defamation under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is not directed by the evidence on record. Furthermore, the court also noted that the offense of defamation (Section 500 of the IPC) cannot be taken into account in this case, as the complaint was not filed by the aggrieved person, namely the Prime Minister.