"State can't wait with folded hands till actual complaint is filed:" AP govt tells Supreme Court MP Krishnam Raju incited one group to kill other

The Andhra Pradesh has informed the Supreme Court that YSR Congress leader and Member of Parliament (MP), Kanumuri Raghurama Krishnam Raju had made consistent and deliberate attempts to incite disaffection towards the State government by creating wedge between various classes and groups of citizens..The State government further submitted that the First Information Report (FIR) lodged against Raju for the offence of sedition was registered only after thoroughly examining his statements."The Petitioner cannot be heard to say that the State ought to have waited with folded hands till an actual complaint was filed," the State government submitted..In its affidavit filed before the top court, Andhra government conceded that every individual, much less a Member of Parliament, has an inalienable right to criticize the government. "But such a right cannot extend to creating a situation where public order is disturbed. Indeed, existence of public order is a sine qua non for effective exercise of the right to freedom of speech," the affidavit underscored. .The affidavit was filed in response to Raju's plea against a May 15 order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court denying him bail in the sedition case lodged against him.Raju who is himself a member of the YSR Congress party which is in power in AP, has been critical of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Raju in his plea before the Supreme Court had contended that sedition charges were slapped on him since he was seeking to get bail granted to the Chief Minister cancelled by the CBI court. .Breaking: Supreme Court orders YSR Congress MP Kanumuri Raghurama Krishnam Raju to be examined and admitted in Army Hospital, Secunderabad.The AP government stated that it was not a one time slip or an error of judgment on part of Raju but the contentious statements were made in pursuance of a "deliberate design and a conspiracy hatched by several individuals" including the MP "to create unrest in the State by dividing people on the basis of caste and religion."."Petitioner has even gone to the extent of encouraging one group of persons for not only beating but also killing persons from other group. The whole intention to incite classes/communities against each other is to excite disaffection towards the Government. State was constrained to initiate appropriate action only when it was realized that the words and actions of the Petitioner herein were manifesting in actual violence across the State of Andhra Pradesh and were creating disharmony within various classes of citizens," the reply in Supreme Court said. .The reply also stated that even while in judicial custody, Raju did "not fall short of addressing a press conference." He also displayed his feet alleging that he was injured by police beating, a gesture that was clearly intended to incite people against the government, the affidavit said. .The government while dismissing allegations of custodial torture levelled by Raju stated that the same were "completely false" and were made with sole aim of creating a euphoria around the arrest."Had there been an iota of truth in such allegations, the State would not have consented to examination of the petitioner," it was submitted. .A Supreme Court bench of Justices Vineet Saran and BR Gavai had on May 17 directed Raju to be treated at Army Hospital, Secunderabad, while maintaining his bail plea would be heard on May 21, 2021.