Supreme court stays arrest of hate speech accused Wajahat Khan, main complainant in Sharmishtha Panoli case

The Supreme Court of India yesterday stayed the arrest of Wajahat Khan, the main complainant in the case against social media influencer Sharmistha Panoli over her videos on Operation Sindoor.

Khan, who has already been arrested by Kolkata Police, has been protected from being arrested in FIRs registered against him in Assam, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Delhi and Haryana.

A bench of Justices KV Vishwanathan and NK Singh while taking strong objections to Khan's tweets, said that hate speech wont' take us anywhere.

Top court has issued notices to the Union government and the states of Assam, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra and West Bengal, asking them to respond to Khan's plea for consolidation of FIRs registered against him. The matter will now be heard on July 14.

Interestingly, Khan had filed a complaint against Panoli for alleged hate speech in a post she had made. Later, posts made by Khan surfaced wherein he allegedly hurt religious sentiments by making unacceptable comments against Devi Maa Kamakhya and other Hindu deities.

Kolkata police has booked Khan under Sections 196(1) (a), 299, 352 and 353(1)(c) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhitya.

Case Title: WAZAHAT KHAN vs. UNION OF INDIA