Court orders FIR against AAP leader for remarks against Gandhi,Nehru

A city court today directed the Delhi Police to register an FIR against Aam Aadmi Party leader Ashutosh for allegedly making "vulgar" statements against Mahatma Gandhi and former prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Jawaharlal Nehru in a blog in 2016.

The court's direction came on a complaint seeking lodging of an FIR against Ashutosh for writing a blog with serious allegations against the former leaders to defend an ex-AAP MLA, whose name had cropped up in a sex scandal.

"Easy for attention seeker to stand and point finger towards Mahatma, difficult even for patriotic preacher to rise and achieve greatness like Mahatma," Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ekta Gauba observed.

The magistrate said that journalist-turned-politician Ashutosh was trying to gain public attention by demeaning the image of Mahatma Gandhi and corrupting the mind of the youngsters.

"Ashutosh Kumar has tried to gain public attention by tarnishing the revered image of Mahatma Gandhiji thereby demeaning his respect in the minds of the people to settle the political scores and made allegations, which tend to corrupt the mind of the readers including the younger generation, which in my view are cognisable offences.

"Thus, I found that in the present case, prima facie there are sufficient grounds for the registration of FIR in the cognisable offences under sections 292 and 293 of the IPC. Hence, SHO, Begumpur is directed to register an FIR against respondent Ashutosh Kumar and to investigate the matter under the relevant provisions of law," the court said.

The complaint lodged by one Yogender has sought an FIR against him under sections 292 (writing or drawing figure shall be deemed to be obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect tend to deprave and corrupt persons, who are likely to read, see or hear the matter) and 293 (selling, distribution or circulation of obscene object to person under twenty years of age) of the IPC.

In 2016, in a blog Ashutosh had defended a sacked AAP minister who was expelled from the party on charges of rape.

Ashutosh had referred to the reported relationships of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru with women to defend Sandeep Kumar over an "objectionable" CD showing him in a compromising position with a woman.

The court, while allowing the complaint, said, "Ashutosh Kumar has made specific and heinous imputations against Mahatma Gandhi. Not only are the allegations vulgar and obscene but are to the extent of imputing incest."