The Supreme Court on Thursday has quashed the FIR lodged against Shillong Times editor Patricia Mukhim. This FIR against Patricia Mukhim was lodged with a Facebook post that mentioned violence against a particular community. On this post, some other people of the community had filed a case against him.
In this case, the Meghalaya High Court had found Mukhim guilty of causing communal hatred under Section 153 of the CrPC and also dismissed the plea to quash the FIR filed by Lawsohtun Dorbar Shnong, a traditional institution of Shillong. Now the Supreme Court has ordered the cancellation of the FIR.
What were the arguments of the Advocate in court?
Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing in court on behalf of Patricia Mukhim, argued that the text of the Facebook post on which the case was filed was edited and that only a small amount of text was placed before the police. That the purpose of that Facebook post was not to disturb social harmony in any way.
According to the report of Live Law, the Bench, while announcing the decision to quash the FIR, said that in view of the clauses imposed and the allegations, the allegations do not constitute an offense under the section. In this case, a decision is taken to cancel it.
