Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Friday quashed two hate speech cases filed against former Chief Minister and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai, who had been accused of promoting enmity between groups over remarks on alleged land encroachment by Waqf authorities.
A bench led by Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar delivered the judgment after hearing Bommai’s petitions seeking to quash the cases. The court, citing vague and unsubstantial allegations, concluded that continuing the proceedings would constitute an abuse of the legal process. The order, however, applies exclusively to Bommai and not to the other individuals named in the complaints.
Bommai, represented by senior advocate Prabhuling Navadgi, maintained that the cases were “frivolous and vindictive.”
The statements at the centre of the complaints were made during a BJP rally in November 2024, where Bommai accused the Congress-led Karnataka government of allowing the Waqf Board to encroach upon temple and farmland. He had remarked, “wherever a stone is thrown in Savanur town, it is Waqf land.” He was booked under Section 196(1)(A) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
In total, three complaints were filed that month—against Bommai, BJP leaders C.T. Ravi and former MP Pratap Simha, and a well-known pontiff—alleging that their speeches at the protest incited communal tension. Two FIRs were registered at Shiggaon police station in Haveri district in connection with the BJP protest held on 4 November 2024.
Subsequently, Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara had announced legal action against the BJP leaders and the religious figure.
Reacting to the developments, the BJP asserted: “The state government has booked false cases against BJP and its supporters just to suppress it. They won’t succeed in their effort. We will challenge all false charges in court. Already, the Karnataka high court has dismissed many FIRs that were filed against BJP leaders.”
(inputs from IANS)