The Rajasthan High Court on Tuesday, May 6, stayed an FIR lodged against BJP President JP Nadda. The FIR was lodged by a Congress worker in relation to a tweet by BJP's IT Cell head Amit Malviya.
On his tweet posted on April 10, Malviya had allegedly mocked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with regard to Sonia Gandhi crediting him for the success of Rajasthan's Bhilwara model to control Covid-19.
Court issues notice against the state
The court had issued notice to the state government and the petitioner, Congress worker from Hanumangarh, Manoj Kumar Saini seeking reply in six weeks.
Saini had filed an FIR against Malviya and the BJP National President for this tweet terming it to be disparaging for the top Congress leaders.
Malviya had posted in his tweet, "Sonia Gandhi claims Bhilwara tested 22 lakh people due to Rahul's warning! Wherever there is Rahul, can exaggeration and maths blunder be behind?"
Nadda, meanwhile, had moved to the High Court seeing the quashing of the FIR filed by Saini while substantiating Malviya's tweet.
Justice Vinit Kumar Mathur took the decision over adjourning the plea filed by Malviya to quash the criminal proceedings to July 10.
"In the meanwhile, effect and operation of the FIR No.216/2020 registered with Police Station Hanumangarh Town, Hanumangarh alongwith entire proceedings pursuant thereto qua the present petitioner shall remain stayed," mentioned the HC Justice.
This development comes a day after the stay order released by Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati on the FIR registered against BJP National President JP Nadda who had retweeted Malviya's tweet.
Justice P S Bhati also directed the Hanumangarh police on the effect and operation of the FIR. In addition to this, the court sought reply within six weeks to the Congress worker and the state government, whom Nadda had made a party in the case.
