MP News: Supreme Court Issues Notice To MP Police In Plea Over Beef WhatsApp FIR

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a plea seeking quashing of an FIR registered against a man accused of sharing a WhatsApp message claiming that "consuming beef was essential to being a good Hindu."

A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan issued notice to the Madhya Pradesh Police and others on the plea filed by Buddha Prakash Bouddha.

Bouddha approached the apex court against an order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which had dismissed his plea to quash the FIR. The High Court noted that the allegations in the FIR disclosed prima facie ingredients of the offences invoked.

“The present matter involves allegations of publication or circulation of material capable of hurting religious sentiments or promoting disharmony. The allegations contained in the impugned FIR, when taken at face value, disclose prima facie ingredients of the offences invoked,” the High Court had observed.

Bouddha had posted a message on WhatsApp containing "derogatory and misleading" comments about the Hindu religion and Brahmin community. The complaint alleged that the message claimed “consuming beef was essential to being a good Hindu, and bull sacrifices and meat consumption were obligatory on certain occasions.”

Following this, an FIR was registered against Bouddha under sections 196(1)(b) (promotion of enmity between groups), 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 353(1)(c), and 353(2) (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.