Jammu & Kashmir High Court stays case against Jitendra Narayan Tyagi over remarks against Islam

The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh stayed the criminal trial pending against Jitendra Narayan Tyagi (formerly Syed Waseem Rizvi) in connection with allegations that he made derogatory remarks against Islam and Prophet Mohammed [Jitendra Narayan Tyagi @Syed Waseem Rizvi v. UT of J&K and Anr.]..Justice Rahul Bharti passed the interim order while dealing with plea by Tyagi, a former chairman of the Shia Central Waqf Board of Uttar Pradesh, to quash the case against him. Justice Bharti noted that prior sanction had not been taken before the trial court took cognisance of the case against Tyagi, which involved allegations under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between religious groups), 295A (hurting religious sentiments), and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.The High Court further found prima facie merit in Tyagi's argument that obtaining such prior government sanction was mandatory in Jammu and Kashmir, as required under Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (now replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)."Prima facie case is made out. The Judicial Magistrate 1st Class (2nd Additional Munsiff), Srinagar in the cognizance taking order dated 09.02.2022 has not laboured to consult the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, as it was then obtaining and, thus, erred in taking the cognizance by by-passing the Central Government‘s consent in the context of UT of Jammu & Kashmir," the High Court said in its April 11 ruling. .It proceeded to stay the trial against Tyagi. His plea to quash the case is listed next on July 7. "In the meantime, the proceedings in the case titled Danish Hassar Dar vs Jitender Narayan Singh Tyagi before the court of Judicial Magistrate 1st Class (2nd Additional Munsiff), Srinagar on file No. 131/2nd Addl shall remain stayed," the High Court ordered. The Court also sought a response in the matter from Danish Hassan Dar, who had filed the criminal complaint against Tyagi before the trial court. .Dar had alleged that after Tyagi converted from Islam to Hinduism, he made a series of statements that denigrated Islam and Prophet Mohammed. These remarks were widely circulated in the media and sparked outrage among Muslim religious scholars and organizations across the country. Dar accused Tyagi of hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims through such public remarks.Dar initially approached the police with a complaint against Tyagi. However, he later filed a private complaint before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court when the police failed to register the complaint..On February 9, 2022, the magistrate tasked with dealing with the matter took cognizance of the offences alleged against Tyagi. In February this year, the trial court even called for the arrest of Tyagi in the matter after he failed to attend court hearings. These trial court proceedings have now been stayed by the High Court. In his plea before the High Court, Tyagi's counsel had argued that Dar's private complaint was meant to prompt a police investigation, and should not have led to the trial court straightaway taking cognisance (judicial notice). The Court found prima facie merit in this submission and stayed the trial court proceedings. .Advocate Ankur Sharma appeared for Tyagi..[Read Order]