Bidar school’s anti-CAA drama does not attract sedition charges, rules court
BIDAR: A court in Bidar has observed that the drama played by the children of Shahin Urdu Medium Primary School would not attract sedition charges under Section 124A of IPC.
The Bidar District and Sessions Judge Managoli Premavati granted bail to the founder of Shahin Group of Institution, Bidar, on Tuesday (copy of the sanctioning order of anticipatory was made available to the New Indian Express) who had been booked for sedition.
The judge observed that she had carefully gone through the material placed on record. During the school function, the actor (student Ahana Parveen) protested against the CAA and NRC by delivering the lines from the drama.
The extracted portion is only offensive part as per the prosecution. However, the dialogues, if read as a whole, does not seem to have any seditious remarks against the government, the judge observed.
What the children have expressed is that they will have to leave the country if they don’t produce the documents and except that there is nothing to show that he has committed the offence of sedition.
The dialogue, in my considered opinion, does not invoke contempt or excite dissatisfaction towards the government, the judge added.
So far as the offense under Section 153A of IPC ( promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, language) is concerned, there is no reference of any other community in the drama. But all the artists have said is that the Muslims will have to leave the country if they do not produce the documents as required under the proposed CAA, NRC Acts.
When there is no mention of other religions in the entire drama, there is no question of causing disharmony between followers of two different faiths, which is the main requirement of the offence punishable under Section 153A of IPC, the judge observed.
When the New Indian Express contacted Bidar SP Nagesh D L on this issue, he said that whatever the judge has said is the observation on the order granting anticipatory bail. The observations would not come under the trial which is under progress against the staff, a parent and the management of Shaheen Urdu Medium School for playing drama on January 21.