Patna HC quashes FIR against Madhya Pradesh CM

PATNA: The Patna high court on Thursday quashed the criminal proceedings against Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan arising out of an FIR lodged against his alleged anti-Biharis statement.
The FIR was lodged in the Bettiah town police station by one Murad Ali of Bettiah. Quoting newspaper reports, the FIR alleged the Madhya Pradesh CM made a statement on November 6, 2009 at a public meeting that people from Bihar would not be given employment in the factories coming up at Satna in Madhya Pradesh.By making such a statement, the CM had promoted enmity between different groups on the ground of place of birth and residence, the FIR alleged and added such a statement was in contravention to the oath of office taken by the CM and that it also defamed the citizens of Bihar.
CM Chauhan had subsequently moved the Patna high court and sought quashing of the FIR. His petition contended he never made the statement attributed to him and that a contradiction had been issued by him soon after the newspapers reported the distorted statement. In the contradiction, he also said the people of Bihar, UP or any other region of India were welcome to work in Madhya Pradesh.
Chauhan's counsel Tuhin Shankar submitted before the court the CM's clarification was widely circulated and published in various newspapers. The FIR based on distorted newspaper reports of the speech made by the CM was, therefore, wholly untenable and fit to be quashed, he pleaded before the court.
While quashing the FIR, a single bench of Justice Aditya Kumar Trivedi held prosecution could not be launched on the basis of a newspaper report. A newspaper report can only be secondary evidence. Also, the complainant had neither named the reporter nor the date on which the statement was reportedly made. Moreover, the petitioner had issued a specific contradiction. A plain reading of the averments does not suggest any intention on the part of Chauhan to provoke disharmony, disorder or violence, the bench said.