The Karnataka High Court Today (May 29) strongly criticized BJP leader N Ravikumar for implying that a woman IAS officer was from Pakistan. The court asked him to apologize officially and submit it on record.
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BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court today expressed serious concern over a remark made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader N Ravikumar. The leader allegedly made a controversial statement against Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Taranum, an IAS officer, suggesting she might be from Pakistan.
The incident started when Ravikumar approached the High Court, seeking to cancel a criminal case filed against him. The case stemmed from his public comment in which he reportedly said:
“The Kalaburagi DC office has also lost its independence. The DC madam is also listening to what they (Congress) say. I don’t know whether the DC has come from Pakistan or is an IAS office here.”
This statement, made on May 24, was seen as an attack on the Deputy Commissioner and raised concerns of communal undertones. According to Ravikumar, the Kalaburagi district administration was being controlled by the Congress-led state government.
During the hearing, Justice Suraj Govindraj of the Karnataka High Court took a firm stance and drew parallels with another similar case in Madhya Pradesh involving BJP leader Kunwar Vijay Shah.
Justice Govindraj stated:
“What happened in Madhya Pradesh? You want the same to happen? We don’t want these statements to be made. You have seen what happened in Madhya Pradesh and the Supreme Court (referring to the Kunwar Vijay Shah case)? You (Ravikumar) cannot be making these kinds of statements! … What is the statement that you made against the Deputy Commissioner? We will just quote what happened in Madhya Pradesh and what the Supreme Court has said, that’s all. That’s enough … Make your apologies to the lady in question, make her accept the apology, place it on record, we will consider then.”
The court was referring to the case where Kunwar Vijay Shah had made a communal comment against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, a Muslim officer who was part of India’s military briefing on ‘Operation Sindoor‘. Shah had called her a:
‘Sister of terrorists’
Following this, a criminal case was registered against Shah, and the Madhya Pradesh High Court intervened. Later, Shah moved the Supreme Court, which granted temporary protection from arrest. However, the apex court severely criticized his statement and ordered an investigation by a Special Task Force.
The Karnataka High Court pointed this out while dealing with Ravikumar’s plea and noted:
“(In Kunwar Vijay Shah’s case) Supreme Court has constituted a special task force. Apology was rejected also by the Supreme Court.”
In Ravikumar’s case, his lawyer told the court that he had already apologized for his remark and requested the court to protect him from arrest. The counsel also argued that charges under the SC/ST (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Act, 1989, were not applicable since Ravikumar had not said anything against anyone from those communities.
Meanwhile, the state government’s legal team informed the court that Ravikumar would not be arrested if he continued to cooperate with the investigation.
The court acknowledged the state’s assurance and listed the case for further hearing in June. It also asked the state and the complainant to submit their responses and instructed that relevant video footage of the incident be submitted on a pen drive.
Since Ravikumar claimed to have issued an apology, the court asked for a formal affidavit to be filed with the apology included. Only after the acceptance of this apology by the Deputy Commissioner and submission of proof would the court consider further steps.
CASE TITLE:
Ravi Kumar N v. State of Karnataka.
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