Congress Questions Case Against Rahul Gandhi; Odisha Police Clarifies

Bhubaneswar: The Congress has questioned the legitimacy of the FIR against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district.

Addressing a presser, Congress leader Sudarsan Das asked whether the case fell under the jurisdiction of Jharsuguda police. “We want to know if they had consulted their higher-up while filing the FIR. We have sought an appointment with the DGP in this regard,” he said, adding that the case is based on a false premise.

“We would requested the BJP government to refrain from politics of hatred. The Constitution has given the right to Rahul Gandhi to express his views on BJP and RSS and he has committed no offence,” he added.

Congress leader Sibananda Ray claimed that case was registered by police only to please the BJP government in Odisha. “Police can register an FIR but cannot conduct a probe since it is mandatory for the investigating authority to secure the sanction under Section 197 of CRPC from the competent authority to investigate a public servant.,” he added referring to a case against bureaucrat-turned-politician V K Pandian.

Responding to the allegations, IG, northern rage, Himanshu Lal explained that offences are generally registered in the area where they are committed as per Section 173 of the BNSS. “However, if the statement was published or accessed in another state (e.g., through social media), jurisdiction can extend to that state as well if the complaint is affected by the action. The complainant must show that the statement caused harm within their jurisdiction. Here, the complainant has shown the same in the case of Jharsuguda that Rahul Gandhi’s statement has hurt him,” he said.

Lal clarified that permission is required for prosecution and not for investigation. “There is no requirement for any permission for investigations against offence committed by any public servant under Section 197 of CRPC. Permission is required only at prosecution stage and that too when public servant is discharging his official duty which is not applicable in this case,” he added.

The FIR was registered on February 7 under Section 152 (criminalizes acts that threaten India’s sovereignty, unity, and integrity), 197(1) (d) (for making or publishing false or misleading information that threatens India’s unity, sovereignty, integrity, or security) of BNS  on the basis of a complaint lodged by one Rama Hari Pujhari, a resident of Sarabhal in Jharsuguda and a local functionary of the BJP.

Pujhari alleged that Rahul Gandhi has been deliberately making anti-national statements which hurt each and every Indian individual.