SC won't quash FIR against Dadlani, asks him to approach HC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a plea by Bollywood music composer Vishal Dadlani to quash an FIR against him for criticising Jain monk Tarun Sagar who addressed the Haryana assembly last month.

An apex court bench of Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel asked Dadlani to instead approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court with his plea and declined to pass any order.

Dadlani's lawyer Karuna Nundy urged the apex court that her client be granted protection from arrest till he moved the high court, but the bench told her she could move the high court even on Wednesday and declined her plea for relief against possible arrest.

Besides Dadlani, a case had been registered against Congress activist Tahseen Poonawala under Sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on religious lines) and 295-A (hurting religious sentiments) of the Indian Penal Code.

Poonawala had tweeted in support of Dadlani.

The Ambala police registered the case on a complaint that they made sarcastic remarks against the Jain monk in their tweets, which had hurt the sentiments of the community.

On the invitation of the Haryana government, the Jain monk had delivered a lecture 'Kadve Vachan' in the assembly. As is the practice, he went to the Haryana assembly naked.

Tarun Sagar is a monk of the Digambar Jain sect who do not wear clothes.

Following protests by the Jain community, Dadlani quit the Aam Aadmi Party on August 28.

In a statement, he said: "I apologise again to the Jain Community and all others offended. But I beg you all not to support religion in governance, for India's sake."

A resolution condemning Dadlani and others was moved in the Haryana assembly on August 29. However, it was not passed following objections from the opposition.

--IANS

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