A session court in Delhi’s Tis Hazari on Wednesday granted interim relief to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and national spokesperson Sambit Patra in connection with a complaint filed against him for allegedly posting a doctored video of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The court also stayed the magistrate court order directing the registration of FIR against the BJP leader.
Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Sharma also issued notice to the respondent and listed the matter for further hearing on January 10, 2022. “Meanwhile, the operation of the impugned order dated November 23, 2021, is stayed,” the Court said.
Patra was represented by senior advocate Ajay Burman along with lawyers Vikas Arora, Amit Tiwari, Deepak Kaushik, Neeraj, DD Sharma, Vishal Choudhary and Siddharth. The Court was hearing a petition filed by Sambit Patra challenging a magistrate court order.
The petitioner has sought to call for the trial court record from the magistrate court and to set aside the order dated November 23 this year, passed by the magistrate whereby directions for registration of FIR was issued, read the plea. Metropolitan Magistrate Rishabh Kapoor had earlier directed Delhi Police to register FIR under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) while allowing an application or complaint of Aam Aadmi Party’s Atishi, through Lawyers Rishikesh and Mohd Irshad.
According to the complainant, BJP’s spokesperson Dr Sambit Patra in January this year had posted an edited video of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on social media in the matter of farmers. The accused fraudulently and knowingly forged the original video and uploaded the false, fabricated and tempered with video on social media with only intention to incite members of the society against the complainant and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, alleged the complainant.
It also stated that on February 2, 2021, the complainant gave a formal complaint to SHO of Police Station IP ESTATE, New Delhi who assured the complainant that they will register the FIR in the matter, but to his surprise, nothing has happened in the said complaint. The plea stated that after no action from Delhi Police, the complainant approached the court for the direction to urgently and expeditiously register an FIR against Sambit Patra, under sections and investigate such offence, and prosecute the said accused in accordance with the law.
The plea stated, since the complaint of the complainant clearly disclosed the commission of a cognizable offence, it is the utmost duty of the police officials receiving the complaint to register an FIR under relevant provisions of law. Even otherwise, it is a settled law that whenever information is laid before the police officer regarding the commission of a cognizable offence, the said Police officer has no option but to immediately register an FIR under section 154 of CrPC, plea read.
