Supreme Court Rejects Brinda Karat's Review Plea Against Clean Chit To BJP Leaders In 2020 Delhi Poll Hate Speech Case

The Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta observed: "We do not find any error, much less apparent, in the order impugned, warranting its reconsideration."

The review petition was considered in chambers after the Court declined Karat's request for an open court hearing.

Karat had challenged the Supreme Court's April 29 verdict, which upheld the conclusion that the speeches delivered by Thakur and Verma during the 2020 Delhi Assembly election campaign did not disclose any cognizable offence warranting registration of an FIR.

While the Court had clarified in the April judgment that prior sanction under Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is not required before a Magistrate directs registration of an FIR under Section 156(3) CrPC, it simultaneously agreed with the Delhi High Court's conclusion that the impugned speeches did not make out offences under the Indian Penal Code.

The original proceedings arose from Karat's challenge to a Delhi High Court judgment affirming a Magistrate's refusal to direct registration of an FIR against the BJP leaders.

Allegation against BJP leaders

Karat alleged that Anurag Thakur's slogan, "Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaron saalon ko," raised during a January 27, 2020 election rally, along with Parvesh Verma's remarks describing Shaheen Bagh protesters as "infiltrators" who would "enter your homes and rape your daughters and sisters and kill them," constituted offences under Sections 153A, 153B, 295A and 505 of the IPC.

However, in its April 29 judgment, the Supreme Court endorsed the Delhi High Court's reasoning that the speeches did not specifically target any identifiable religious or other protected community and therefore did not disclose a cognizable hate speech offence.

Grounds Raised in Review

In the review petition, Karat argued that the Supreme Court had committed an "error apparent on the face of the record" by deciding the merits of the hate speech allegations even though neither the trial court nor the Delhi High Court had examined that issue.

She contended that the proceedings before the Supreme Court were confined to the legal question of whether prior sanction under Section 196 CrPC was necessary before directing investigation under Section 156(3) CrPC.

The petition further relied upon the Election Commission's January 2020 orders, which had found that the speeches violated the Model Code of Conduct and had led to both leaders being removed from the BJP's list of star campaigners and temporarily barred from campaigning.

Karat also pointed to the police status report and video material placed on record, arguing that the Court reiterated the conclusion that no cognizable offence was disclosed without independently examining the evidentiary material.

Rejecting these submissions, the Supreme Court found no ground to revisit its earlier judgment and dismissed the review petition.