On 10th October (Tuesday), Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena gave sanctions for prosecution against ‘activist’ Arundhati Roy and former Kashmiri professor Sheikh Showkat Hussain in the 2010 provocative speeches case, officials of Raj Niwas (Governor’s House) said.
They added that the FIR against Roy and Hussain was lodged after the orders of the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate, New Delhi on 27 November 2010.
A Raj Niwas official said, “LG V K Saxena noted that prima facie a case is made out against Roy and Dr Hussain, former Professor, International Law, Central University of Kashmir, for the commission of an offence under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of Indian Penal Code for their speeches at a public function in the national capital.”
The social activist from Kashmir, Sushil Pandit, had filed a complaint with SHO, Tilak Marg, Delhi in this case. In the complaint, it was alleged that several individuals delivered provocative speeches in public at a conference under the banner of “Azadi – The Only Way”. The event was organised by the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) on 21st October 2010, at LTG Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, Delhi.
The complainant had further alleged that the issue discussed and propagated during that event was “Separation of Kashmir from India”.
A police officer on the condition of anonymity informed that besides Roy and Hussain, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the then chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat and former Delhi University professor Syed Abdul Rehman Geelani and Maoist sympathiser Varvara Rao, who is also an accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case, were also present during the event.
The statement from Raj Niwas added that two other accused namely Sayed Ali Shah Geelani, the Kashmiri separatist leader, and Syed Abdul Rahman Geelani, a Delhi University lecturer who was acquitted by the Supreme Court in a Parliament attack case on technical grounds — have died during the pendency of the case.
Although the case was also registered under Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, the LG had not given sanctions for prosecution against them in this specific section owing to the Supreme Court’s direction to keep all pending trials under Sedition at abeyance.
Regarding this the LG office said, “However, despite a case of sedition being made out, sanction has not been granted under Section 124A of IPC (Sedition) owing to the fact that the Supreme Court on May 5, 2022, in another case has directed that all pending trials, appeals, and proceedings with respect to the charge framed under Section 124A (Sedition) of IPC shall be kept in abeyance and thereafter the three-Judge Bench headed by CJI had referred the matter to Constitution Bench on September 12, 2023.”
