Congress Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi (image-X/ShayarImran)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday criticised the Gujarat Police for registering an FIR against Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi for his social media post which included the poem “Ae Khoon Ke Pyase Baat Suno.”

Reserving its judgement on the petition filed by Pratapgarhi seeking to quash the FIR registered by the Gujarat Police, the apex court observed that the poem promoted the message of non-violence. “It has nothing to do with religion, this has nothing to do with any anti-anti-national activity. Police has shown lack of sensitivity,” the bench observed.

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The top court criticised the Gujarat Police and remarked, “Some sensitivity has to be shown by the police. They must at least read and understand. 75 years after the existence of the Constitution, freedom of speech and expression has to be at least now understood by the police.”

The bench also observed, “Nobody has any respect for creativity. If you read it (the poem) plainly, it says that even if you suffer injustice, you suffer it with love.”

The bench comprised Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan.

Justice Oka explained the poem’s literal meaning: Those who are bloodthirsty listen to us. Even if the fight for justice is met with injustice, we will meet that injustice with love.

The Congress MP was booked on January 3, 2024, under sections related to promoting enmity and harming national integration after posting a video of a mass marriage event in Jamnagar in Gujarat.

In the video, Pratapgarhi was showered with flower petals while the poem played in the background.

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On January 17 this year, the Gujarat High Court refused to quash the FIR, citing the need for further investigation and the Rajya Sabha MP’s non-cooperation with the investigation as a factor in its judgement.

Pratapgarhi had alleged that the FIR was politically motivated and aimed at harassing him. In January, the Supreme Court had granted him interim protection.