Sedition case petition against Owaisi filed in Meerut court

Meerut/Hyderabad: A petition seeking a sedition case against the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad Ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi was filed in a court in Meerut even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) on Sunday demanded action against him and his immediate arrest.

Slamming Owaisi over his decision to provide legal help to men arrested by National Investigation Agency (NIA) for allegedly being members of a Daesh module, the BJP accused him of “betraying” the country and sought action against him for “helping the terror group”.

Telangana BJP MLA T Raja Singh demanded immediate arrest of the Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad and asked the TRS government to register a sedition case against the leader of the Hyderabad-based party. JD (U) spokesperson Ajay Alok also demanded that Owaisi be put behind bars. Owaisi on his part said the offer of legal help was being “blown out of proportion” and that the courts can take a view. Anil Kumar Bakshi, a member of UP Bar Council, in his petition seeking registration of a case against Owaisi for alleged offences including sedition charge alleged his remarks amounted to treason and promoted terrorism.

“Owaisi’s remark also shows that he is supporting terrorism,” he alleged.

Bakshi said he filed a complaint on Saturday with Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) seeking filing of cases under IPC sections 114 (abetting the crime), 115 (abetment of offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life), 117 (abetting commission of offence), 121 (waging war against the country), 121A (conspiracy to commit offences punishable by section 121), 124A (sedition), 131 (abetting mutiny), 132 (abetment of mutiny), and 200 (using as true such declaration knowing it to be false).

Besides, sections 153 (promoting enmity between different groups), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 153A (act of promoting enmity between different groups), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code were also mentioned in the complaint.

The hearing on the complaint will be held on July 6, said the court.

Defending his position on legal assistance to the five terror accused from Hyderabad, Owaisi said whatever he said was within the framework of law and the constitution.

“Every Indian has a right to be legally represented in a court of law. All these people who are criticising and threatening me want all the arrested people to incarcerate in prison without any legal right to be represented in the court. They are threatening the lawyers that they should not represent any Muslim or Dalit in the court”, he said.

Owaisi recalled that Indian government had provided a legal aid to a Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab and he was tried in the court and hanged after proving his guilty.

“Nobody could raise a finger. This is how our legal and constitutional system works. These boys are Indians and they were charged under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. They have constitutional rights to be legally represented. If some body gets angry or offended with this, let them change.”

Senior BJP leader and Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi alleged that Owaisi is giving “oxygen” to terrorists and that he is seen as “standing with extremists”.

“Owaisi is directly or indirectly helping the Daesh which had come up with a video in which it threatened to target India. This is betrayal of the country. On the one hand you condemn the Daesh and on the other hand you support those who are involved in such acts.

“The investigating agencies should take action against him within the legal framework. Those who support terrorism directly or indirectly should be condemned,” BJP National Secretary Shrikant Sharma said in Delhi.

constitution. What BJP and RSS are saying that if tomorrow any Muslim is arrested no lawyer should represent them”.

On the BJP leader Muqtar Abbas Naqvi’s criticism that Owaisi was directly or indirectly helping the Daesh, Owaisi asked Naqvi whether he has guts to condemn the incident in Haryana in which two fasting Muslim youth were forced by the Sanghis to eat cow dung and drink urine.

— with inputs from Mohammad Siddique, correspondent