K’taka HC slams Cong-led govt for FIR against NCPCR chief over X post; quashes case
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has come down heavily on the Congress-led state government over registration of an FIR against the Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in Bengaluru over a post on X while also quashing the criminal proceedings initiated against NCPCR chief, Priyank Kanoongo.
The bench headed by Justice Nagaprasanna passed the order quashing the FIR and allowing the petition filed by the NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo, questioning the crime registered him.
Commenting on the lodging of the FIR on the complaint by the Muslim orphanage alleging the NCPCR Chairperson of making communal statements on X, the bench said: “Such complaints, if permitted to be continued, no public servant/s can be safe in performance of their official duty.
“The act of complainant is unpardonable, but this Court is holding its hand in not directing any coercive action against the complainant for the aforesaid act, while observing that the officers should also encourage restraint as they are performing duties under the statute,” the court observed.
Therefore, finding no ingredients of the offences alleged against the petitioner, permitting further proceedings to continue on the face of it, would become an abuse of the process of the law and putting a premium on the mischief played by the complainant, the bench underlined.
“… the tweet was, they are the children who are living a medieval Taliban life. This can at best be a metaphor, to describe the condition as to how they were living,” the bench noted.
“This has never been tweeted that Taliban like terrorist activities taking place in madarasa. It is not a madarasa; it is an orphanage. The complainant has deliberately added these words to create antimony, in place of harmony,” the bench emphasised.
The addition in the complaint is a clear mischief, which is likely to disturb the peace and tranquility and not by the statements made by the petitioner, the court stated.
“The petitioner – Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has filed a petition before the Court challenging registration of a crime for the offences punishable under Sections 34, 447, 448 and 295A of the IPC,” the court noted.
The petitioner, who is also the monitoring authority under the provisions of the Act, in exercise of powers conferred under Section 13 of the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, the petitioner as part of the official tour programme, inspected a juvenile custodial home in Bengaluru, the bench said.
The petitioner after conducting an inspection of the orphanage – “Darul Uloom Sayideeya Yateemkhana” and finds several illegalities; communicates those illegalities to the Chief Secretary of the Government of Karnataka on November 19, 2023.
During inspection, it was noticed that the said Darul Uloom Sayideeya Yateemkhana, is an unregistered ‘yateemkhana’, which was housing 200 children and functioning in violation of law.
It was also found in the Yateemkhana that the orphanage was not fulfilling the infrastructural requirements, there were 5 rooms approximately 100 sq.ft. each and about 150 children were staying in those rooms and 16 children slept on 4 bunk beds and 150 children were made to sleep in two big halls used for making prayers.
Besides, it was also noticed that none of the children were sent to school; no recreational facilities were available in the orphanage and those conditions were in violation of the provisions of the Act.
The NCPCR chairperson in post on X stated that the children are the children are living a medieval Talibani life.
Soon after this, a police complaint was filed against Priyank Kanoongo, alleging him of a post likening the institution to Talibani.
The DJ Halli police in Bengaluru had lodged a FIR for trespassing and creating communal disharmony under IPC Sections 295 (A), 447 and 448 read with 34. The judgement was passed on September 18 by the court.