The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed appeals filed by the Chhattisgarh government challenging a State High Court order to stay the investigation on an FIR against former Chief Minister Raman Singh and BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra for their tweets in connection with an alleged fake toolkit case.
“Let the Chhattisgarh High Court decide the case,” a Bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana said.
The Bench said many cases concerning the toolkit issue were pending in various High Courts and this one could not be given separate treatment. “Don’t waste your energy here. We are not inclined to entertain the special leave petitions. We dismiss the SLPs,” the court told senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for the State. The apex court requested the Chhattisgarh High Court to expeditiously decide the pleas related to the fake toolkit case, saying the matter must be decided without being influenced by earlier observations.
The Chhattisgarh High Court on June 11 passed two separate orders and granted interim reliefs in the same FIR lodged against Mr. Singh and Mr. Patra.
It had noted that averments in the FIR “clearly indicates that no public peace or tranquillity is being adversely affected and it is purely political rivalry between two political parties”.
On May 19, an FIR was lodged based on the complaint of Akash Sharma, president of the National Students’ Union of India’s (NSUI), Chhattisgarh unit, that Mr. Singh, Mr. Patra and others had circulated fabricated content on social media platforms using a fake letterhead of the Congress, projecting it as a toolkit developed by the party.
