During the hearing, Malviya’s counsel told the Bench that the ingredients required to constitute the two offences are absent, as there has been no communal tension after the said tweet.
To buttress his case, the counsel cited news reports stating that the West Bengal government has discontinued the Saraswati Pooja in schools.
He, therefore, termed the FIR to be a ‘politically motivated’ and ‘malicious.’
On the other hand, the counsel representing the State argued that a strong prima facie case is made out from the FIR itself.
“Media reports cannot be the basis of any serious expression of thoughts,” the government counsel added, while seeking some time to respond to the contentions.
The Bench will now take up the matter for hearing after summer break.
Source: Barandbench
