Punjab and Haryana High Court quashes FIR against actor booked for calling Sage Valmiki a dacoit

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently quashed a first information report (FIR) against Punjabi film actor Rana Jung Bahadur who was booked for calling Sage Valmiki, the author of Ramayana, a dacoit (bandit)..Justice Pankaj Jain noted that the tale regarding the transformation of Maharishi Valmiki from a bandit to a revered saint is part of folklore and scriptures. Hence, a person cannot be prosecuted for stating the same, the Court observed."The tale regarding transformation of Maharishi Valmiki is part of folklore and scriptures though it may not be to the liking of the complainant," the Court said. It proceeded to quash the FIRs against the actor for offences under Section 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship) and Section 295A (hurting religious sentiments) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and for offences under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (SC/ST Act). Advocates Suvir Sidhu and Tejaswini appeared for the petitioner.Deputy Advocate General JS Arora appeared for the State..The criminal case was filed in 2022 against Bahadur after he said in an interview that sage Valmiki was a bandit in his early life before becoming a sage and writing Ramayana. The actor then moved the High Court to quash the case. His counsel argued that the actor's statements were in not intended to hurt the religious sentiments of any community. "Rather (it was submitted that the) example of Maharishi Valmiki was quoted only to draw parallel and to use the same as a metaphor to convey that the influence on a person is a relative term and merely for the reason that the stories exhibited in cinema show gangsters, it cannot be treated as reason of rising violence in the society," the Court further noted, while recording the submission of the petitioner.However, the State opposed the actor's plea, arguing that his remarks had gone viral on social media and had hurt the sentiments of a community. The Court acknowledged that the actor's statements were not contested and proceeded to determine whether the allegations made in the FIR against him amounted to the offences punishable under Sections 295 or 295-A of the IPC and Section 3 of the SC/ST Act..The Court concluded that the essential elements required to establish these offences were lacking in the present case.The Court noted that even if it is accepted that the actor had made the statement, it cannot be an offence, more so since the said tale of the transformation of Valmiki from a bandit to a sage has been alluded to by the Supreme Court and High Court as well in many judgments.In this regard, the Court referred to a judgment of the High Court in Tilak Raj vs. State of Punjab which said,"These references in Maru Ram and others v. Union of India and others and Rakesh Kaushik v. BL Vig also refer to transformation of Bhagwan Valmiki from dacoit to revered saint." .Such stories of humans being elevated to the status of God are in plenty in India and outside, Justice Jain added."Whichever religion it may be, the worshiped Gods were born as humans. Owing to their contributions to the society and the strength of their character, they attained divinity. Inspired by them and believing numina, people started worshiping them. The journey from ‘Nar to Narayan’ is not only embedded in the ethos of India but is also true to the religions born outside India," the Court said. The Court also relied on the Supreme Court judgment in Mahendra Singh Dhoni v. Yerraguntla Shyamsundar, wherein it was held that Section 295A of the IPC does not encompass every act of insult or attempt to insult religious beliefs.Rather, it punishes only those acts that are perpetrated deliberately with the malicious intent of outraging religious beliefs, the Court noted.In view of this as well, the High Court concluded that continuing criminal proceedings against the actor would lead to a miscarriage of justice.Therefore, it allowed the actor's petition and quashed the FIR filed in 2022 and subsequent criminal proceedings against him..[Read Order]