A Haridwar court acquitted Jitendra Tyagi, formerly Wasim Rizvi, in the 2021 Dharam Sansad case, stating that “while hurting religious sentiments through spoken words may be punishable under Section 298 IPC, it is essential that such words be uttered in the hearing or presence of the person allegedly offended — which is not the case here.”
The court, in its April 16 order, observed that the complainant himself admitted he had provided the investigating officer with video footage received via social media, transferred from his phone to the alleged pen drive.
“Messages circulated on social media are generally viral in nature and meant for public consumption. Therefore, the video footage available on the complainant’s mobile cannot be considered authentic evidence under the category of electronic records. It also cannot be ruled out that the content shared with the complainant may have been tampered with by the sender,” said the court.
The order further noted that the prosecution was unable to trace the source of the electronic evidence and had based the charges solely on a video circulated on social media.
“The prosecution did not examine in court any eyewitnesses who were present at the Dharma Sansad held between December 17 and 19, 2021. Though a number of police personnel and members of the public were likely present for security and attendance, none were produced as witnesses.”
The court also noted that “no religious tension occurred after the speech was made,” as per the statements of witnesses during their cross-examination.
Following the huge outrage against the Islamophobic event, an FIR was registered against Jitendra Tyagi (formerly Wasim Rizvi) and others under IPC Sections 153A and 298 in January 2022, alleging that Tyagi made objectionable comments against Islam and Prophet Muhammad during the Dharam Sansad held in Haridwar in December 2021.
Tyagi was arrested by the Uttarakhand Police in January 2022.
The “Dharam Sansad,” or Hindu Parliament, held in Haridwar, featured speeches by Hindutva supremacists who openly urged Hindus to arm themselves and called for genocide against Muslims.
