Nupur Sharma has been granted the relief she had sought from the Supreme Court of India. The Apex Court, on Wednesday, 10 August, directed the clubbing and transfer of first information reports (FIRs) registered against Nupur Sharma for her comments on Prophet Muhammad, to the Delhi Police.
Completely decimating the former BJP spokesperson on July 1, the Division Bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala had said accused Nupur Sharma of upsetting the entire country and placing it on a flashpoint.
“The way she has ignited emotions across the country. This lady is single-handedly responsible for what is happening in the country. We saw the debate on how she was incited. But they way she said all this and later says she was a lawyer, it is shameful. She should apologise to the whole country,” Justice Kant had said.
The Court had practically forced Nupur Sharma to withdraw her plea, after which she filed the present application seeking revival of the earlier petition.
The same Division Bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala has ordered,
“Since this Court has already taken cognizance of serious threat to life and security of the petitioner, we direct that all FIRs against Nupur Sharma be transferred and clubbed for investigation to the Delhi Police.”
The Court said Nupur Sharma would be at liberty to pursue her rights and remedies by approaching the Delhi High Court for quashing the current and future FIRs.
For any clarification, the parties are required to approach the Delhi High Court.
It seems the ridicule hurled at the two judges after July 1, has forced them to not think of what media does in India. They are supposed to, and now have objectively applied the law.
In fact, going a step further, they ordered the FIRs to be clubbed in Delhi, despite the settled law that the FIRs would be clubbed at the place where the FIR is lodged.
The Delhi Police will be taking care of all the FIRs in the country, clubbing them and investigating them for the Courts. To be more specific, the FIRs will be probed by the Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO) of the Delhi Police.
“IFSO shall be at liberty to take assistance from other police forces to take case to logical end. Till the probe is over, the interim protection granted to Nupur Sharma shall stand extended,” the Bench clarified.
Again, appearing for Nupur Sharma was Senior Advocate Maninder Singh who informed the court that since the Court’s July 17 order granting his client interim protection, here have been two more FIRs registered against her.
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“Most important consideration is threat to my life,” Sr Advocate Maninder Singh submitted.
Appearing for the government of West Bengal where the first FIR was lodged, Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy, objected the transfer to Delhi and submitted that if the court was minded to order clubbing of the FIRs, it should be done in the state of West Bengal.
When unsuccessful, she proposed the SIT should have members from West Bengal, which was again declined by the bench saying:
“But again, the SIT will be have to by one agency. We can ask Delhi police to constitute one…”
The Advocate Maneka Guruswamy submitted that the SIT should be monitored by the Court.
Again, declining the request, the Court said,
“This puts undesirable pressure on investigation agency. They should have a dispassionate environment.”
Attempting to preserve the matter as ‘live’ and pending in the Apex Court, Ms Guruswamy submitted that the matter be kept pending, meaning for it to come back after the investigation is done.
And once again, the court refused saying:
“There is no purpose for the same. For any clarification etc, you can approach the Delhi High Court now.”
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