Punjab and Haryana High Court quashes FIR against Kumar Vishwas booked for calling Arvind Kejriwal 'separatist'

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday quashed the First Information Report (FIR) lodged against former Aam Aadmi Party member Kumar Vishwas who was booked for hate speech and unlawful assembly after he had accused Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of being a separatist [Kumar Vishwas vs State of Punjab]..Vishwas, who was booked for his statements made in February 2022 during the assembly elections in Punjab, had moved the High Court seeking quashing of the case. The plea was allowed by Justice Anoop Chitkara, who said that freedom of speech is an essential component of democracy. "There cannot be any democracy without freedom of choice and free speech. In a democracy, it is the pre-election times when people’s information matters the most. The petitioner being a social educator, while sharing the alleged exchange that took place with his ex-associate (Kejriwal), cannot be said to have spewed the venom. There is nothing to infer any intention to divide the classes on communal lines," the judge said in his order. .Vishwas had on February 16 and 17 had given an interview to media channels claiming that Kejriwal had once told him that he would become the chief minister or the prime minister of an independent State or country. It was alleged that due to statements by Vishwas, unknown persons had wrongfully restrained the complainant (belonging to AAP) on April 12. .Vishwas was, subsequently, booked under Sections 153 A (attempt to create communal disharmony), 505 (attempt to incite public mischief), 341 (wrongful restraint), 116 (abetting an offence), 323 (causing hurt), 143 (unlawful assembly) 147 (rioting) and 120B (criminal conspiracy). The bench, however, noted that there wasn't any proximity between the speech given in February and the incident of April or even the later incident of a ruckus created by some persons. The Court said that none of the offences were prima facie made out against Vishwas. .The judge highlighted the importance of free speech invoking the first speech given by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to independent India."It has always been India's quest to flirt with new ways for self-realisation. Her vivacity and dynamism can be greatly attributed to an environment of diversity and freedoms abound; the freedom to be an atheist, an antagonist, or a believer; choice to practice beliefs of karmas, re-birth...There exists an inherent liberty to individuals and the communities to propagate, follow, and spread the wisdom enshrined in the varied philosophies," the judge observed. .All these astounding attributes and paths were a result of the freedom to practice and inform, the Court noted. "Even in the shackles of colonialism, her mind remained free and eager for deliverance. With the liberation of her soul, the swatantrata was not just from British rule but from the slavery of thoughts, unchaining of oneself from the subjugation of alien laws, restoring the absolute freedom to think, undoing the status quo, and spreading the information," the Court opined. It further underscored that freedom of speech was one of the rights which Indians acquired "at the stroke of the midnight" on August 15, 1947. "At the stroke of midnight, apart from liberty, we got azadi of choice and azadi of free speech and of expression; and we took a great leap forward by endorsing democracy, ushering equality and dignity, ensuring infinite opportunities to preserve and spearhead this fantastic diversity till eternity.".With regard to the facts of the case, the bench noted that Vishwas wasn't among those who had created ruckus or assaulted the AAP leaders."Thus, it would not be permissible to expand the scope of the complaint to connect the alleged subsequent incident by fishing the evidence and on the assumptions and suspicions of the complainant. This is a fit case for this court to prevent the abuse of the process of law because the allegations made in the complaint and the probe do not contain any material which even remotely links the incidents with the interviews of the petitioner," the judge opined. With these observations, the bench quashed the FIR against Vishwas. .Senior Advocates Randeep Rai and Chetan Mittal along with advocates Mayank Aggarwal and Rubina Virmani appeared for the Petitioner. Senior Advocate Puneet Bali along with Additional Advocates General Prashant Manchanda and Ferry Sofat and Deputy Advocate General HS Sitta and advocate Vaibhav represented State of Punjab. Advocate Surjeet Bhadu appeared for the complainant. .[Read Order]