The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to intervene in a Chhattisgarh high court order that stayed an investigation into comments made by former chief minister Raman Singh and BJP leader Sambit Patra about an alleged toolkit, or social media campaign playbook, that their party claimed was prepared by the Congress to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May.
It stated that the high court’s comment in the ruling that the First Information Report (FIR) submitted in the case was politically motivated would not prevent it from eventually resolving the issue. The Chhattisgarh government appealed the high court’s interim judgment from June 14 to the Supreme Court. The ruling was issued by a single judge of the high court, who stated that there was no case against Singh and Patra.
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Through their tweets on the purported toolkit, the two were accused of disseminating fake news and inciting hatred between classes. The BJP claims that the toolkit created a skewed narrative about the government’s management of the Covid-19 second wave and the Central Vista Project. Congress has rejected the charges.
Based on Singh and Patra’s objections to the FIR, the high court sent a notice to the state government requesting a response. It claimed that the allegations in the FIR showed that Congressmen were “aggravated” by the tweets, which “clearly demonstrated that no public peace or calm is being jeopardized.” The charges in the FIR were related by the court to a political struggle between two parties.
According to Singhvi, the state administration had hoped for a fair hearing before the Supreme Court, but that was not feasible given the high court’s findings. “Do not squander your energy,” the bench advised Singhvi. We’re not going to mess with the HC order. Allow the top court to make the ultimate decision. The state would also have the chance to appeal the final ruling to this court.”
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“We request the high court to dispose of the petition expeditiously,” the bench stated in dismissing the appeal. On May 19, Singh and Patra were arrested after Akash Sharma, the ruling Congress’s students’ wing in Chhattisgarh, filed a complaint. The two petitioned the high court to have the FIR against them quashed.
