The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday refused to quash an FIR against Lucknow University professor Ravi Kant Chandan over his remarks on the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The bench, however, directed the Hasanganj police not to arrest Chandan without complying to the provisions of the code of criminal procedures.
The FIR was registered against the professor for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus among other charges based on a complaint by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, which is the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He was accused of making objectionable comments over the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi during a debate on an online portal. A bench of justice Arvind Kumar Mishra and justice Manish Mathur passed the order on the petition filed by the professor.
It was argued on behalf of the professor that the offences alleged in the FIR were punishable with a maximum of seven years but police were pressurising to make his arrest without complying to the provisions enshrined under section 41(1)(b) read with section 41(A) of CrPC. These provisions mandate police not to make arrest without issuing notice to the accused and obtaining warrant from the concerned court.
Earlier, the bench said that FIR in question disclosed a cognizable offence and hence there was no occasion for the court to quash the FIR. Chandan was allegedly assaulted by a student on the campus on Wednesday, days after he triggered a controversy with his remarks on the temple.
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