The Madras High Court has ruled that chanting the slogan “fascist BJP down” is not considered an offense. The court dismissed the FIR lodged against Lois Sophia, who was arrested for raising these slogans against the BJP government on a flight, in the presence of Tamil Nadu BJP’s former president and current Telangana Governor and Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.
Justice P Dhanabal from the Madurai bench highlighted that Sophia’s chant of “Fascist BJP” was not a punishable offense; the words were insignificant and harmless. The court also emphasized that the chargesheet lacked grounds to establish the offense of public nuisance under Section 290 of the IPC (Indian Penal Code).
In the case, K Annamalai, the present state president of Tamil Nadu BJP, argued that the police should have filed a case under the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act 1982. However, the court determined that this Act didn’t apply since Sophia’s actions didn’t involve violence and her utterance alone couldn’t jeopardize aircraft safety.
Furthermore, the court noted procedural discrepancies. The initial FIR had been registered under non-cognizable offenses: Section 209 IPC (Public Nuisance) and Section 75 of the Tamil Nadu City Police Act (Penalty for drunkenness or riotous or indecent behavior in public places). Surprisingly, the cognizable offense, Section 505(1)(b), was later added to the printed FIR without being mentioned in the complaint itself. As a result, the Magistrate only remanded Sophia for offenses under non-cognizable sections.
The court also pointed out that Thoothukudi District, where the FIR was lodged, wasn’t covered by the Tamil Nadu City Police Act, rendering Section 75 of the Act inapplicable. Consequently, the court deemed the charge against Sophia in this regard as quashable.
In conclusion, the court determined that Sophia’s actions didn’t warrant any offense. As a result, her plea to dismiss the proceedings was granted.
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