Thane Court Directs Police To Book Former Maharashtra Minister For Hate Speech

The Thane court ordered the police to file an FIR against former Maharashtra minister Jitendra Awhad for allegedly making a statement that may incite communal disharmony.

A court in Thane has directed the police to register FIR against NCP(SP) ML Jitendra Awhad.

Source : PTI

A court in Thane district has directed the police to file a first information report against former Maharashtra minister Jitendra Awhad. The NCP(SP) MLA has been accused of making a statement intended to promote enmity between different groups some years back. 

On February 3, Judicial Magistrate Mahima Saini passed the order directing the Bhayandar police to register a case against Awhad under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) and 505 (2) (statements promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between different classes), reported PTI. 

The order was passed on a plea filed by lawyer Khush Khandelwal, founder of the Hindu Task Force organisation.

As per the plea, the case dates back to August 2018 when the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested cow vigilante Vaibhav Raut from Nalasopara in Palghar district and allegedly recovered crude bombs from him. 

During the investigation, the NCP(SP) legislator made a statement without any evidence that the bombs were going to be used against agitating Maratha activists, the plea claimed. 

Khandelwal approache the Thane magistrate court in 2019 after the Bhayandar police refused to register an FIR in connection with the matter. The court acknowldged that the statement made by Awhad prima facie constitued a cognisable offence, but declined to pass any order for want of jurisdiction.

Khandelwal moved Bombay High Court against the magistrate's order. In September 2024, the High Court set aside the lower court's order and directed the magistrate to heaf a fresh application from Khandelwal seeking registration of an FIR against Awhad. Accordingly, the court heard the plea and ordered the police to register an FIR and conduct an investigation against Awhad.

Awhad is an MLA from the Mumbra-Kalwa assembly constituency in Thane district. He was housing minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022.