The Jammu & Kashmir High Court paused the criminal trial against Jitendra Tyagi for alleged derogatory remarks on Islam, citing lack of required government sanction. The next hearing is set for July 7 as proceedings remain stayed.
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SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has put a hold on the criminal trial against Jitendra Narayan Tyagi, who was earlier known as Syed Waseem Rizvi. He was facing charges for allegedly making disrespectful remarks about Islam and Prophet Mohammed.
This decision was given by Justice Rahul Bharti, who passed an interim order while hearing Tyagi’s request to cancel the case filed against him. Tyagi is a former chairman of the Shia Central Waqf Board in Uttar Pradesh.
Justice Bharti noticed that no official permission (prior sanction) was taken before the lower court started the trial against Tyagi. The case includes serious charges under Sections 153A (creating hatred between religious groups), 295A (hurting religious feelings), and 505 (making statements that may cause public disorder) of the Indian Penal Code.
The High Court also agreed, at first sight, with Tyagi’s argument that in Jammu and Kashmir, the law requires such government permission before a trial begins. This is according to Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which has now been replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
The Court stated,
“Prima facie case is made out. The Judicial Magistrate 1st Class (2nd Additional Munsiff), Srinagar in the cognizance taking order dated 09.02.2022 has not laboured to consult the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, as it was then obtaining and, thus, erred in taking the cognizance by by-passing the Central Government‘s consent in the context of UT of Jammu & Kashmir.”
This remark was made by the High Court in its ruling on April 11.
Following this observation, the Court stayed the ongoing trial against Tyagi. The next hearing on Tyagi’s plea to quash the case is scheduled for July 7.
The Court clearly ordered,
“In the meantime, the proceedings in the case titled Danish Hassar Dar vs Jitender Narayan Singh Tyagi before the court of Judicial Magistrate 1st Class (2nd Additional Munsiff), Srinagar on file No. 131/2nd Addl shall remain stayed.”
The High Court also asked Danish Hassan Dar, who had filed the criminal complaint against Tyagi, to respond to the matter. Dar had claimed that after Tyagi left Islam and converted to Hinduism, he made several statements that insulted Islam and Prophet Mohammed.
According to Dar, these statements spread quickly in the media and caused anger among Muslim religious leaders and organizations all over the country. He accused Tyagi of deeply hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims by making such public remarks.
Initially, Dar went to the police with his complaint against Tyagi. But when the police did not register the case, he filed a private complaint before the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court.
Later, on February 9, 2022, the magistrate officially acknowledged (took cognizance of) the charges against Tyagi. In February this year, the trial court even issued an order for Tyagi’s arrest after he failed to appear for court hearings. However, now all these trial court proceedings have been put on hold by the High Court.
In his request before the High Court, Tyagi’s lawyer argued that Dar’s private complaint was only supposed to trigger a police investigation and should not have led to the trial court directly starting legal proceedings against Tyagi.
The Court agreed, at least for now, with this point and stayed the trial.
Advocate Ankur Sharma appeared in court to represent Tyagi.
CASE TITLE:
Jitendra Narayan Tyagi @Syed Waseem Rizvi vs UT of J&K and Anr.
EARLIER HEARING OF TYAGI IN TRIAL COURT
A court in Srinagar ordered the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar to create a special team to arrest Jitendra Tyagi, who was earlier known as Waseem Rizvi.
This action is related to the case where Tyagi is accused of making disrespectful remarks against Islam and Prophet Muhammad.
The court gave this order on February 20 in the case of Danish Hassan Dar V/s Jitender Narayan Singh Tyagi @Waseem Rizvi.
The 2nd Additional Munsiff Srinagar, Vikas Bhardwaj, issued this directive because, despite several efforts, the accused had not appeared before the court. Since legal action is necessary and Tyagi’s presence in court is important, the judge has asked SSP Srinagar to find and arrest him.
He must be presented before the court by April 25, which is the next hearing date.
“Despite several endeavours, the presence of the accused could not be secured. Therefore, in order to secure the presence of the accused, SSP concerned is hereby directed to constitute a team to arrest the accused and produce him before this Court by next date of hearing,”
-the Court stated.
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The case was filed by Danish Hassan Dar before the Judicial Magistrate on December 15, 2021. This happened after Dar first submitted a written complaint to the police but did not receive any response.
In his complaint, Dar accused Tyagi of violating these sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC):
- Section 153 (promoting enmity between religious groups)
- Section 295A (hurting religious sentiments)
- Section 505 (making statements that disturb public peace)
According to the complaint, on December 6, 2021, after converting from Islam to Hinduism, Tyagi made disrespectful remarks against Islam and Prophet Muhammad while talking to reporters in Lucknow.
The complainant further claimed that Tyagi insulted the Quran by calling it false and frivolous literature. This statement was aired on many well-known national news channels, including Aaj Tak and Zee News.
Additionally, these remarks were also published in well-known newspapers such as The Times of India on December 7, 2021, as mentioned in the complaint.
CASE TITLE:
Danish Hassan Dar vs Jitendera Narayan Singh Tyagi @Waseem Rizwi.
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