The Bombay high court on Thursday questioned the FIR registered against advertising professional Barun Kashyapwho had alleged harassment by “gau rakhsaks” over a leather bag.
The police had claimed that Kashyap had made a false complaint and booked him under the Indian Penal Code for “promoting enmity between communities”. Hearing a plea by Kashyap for quashing the case, a division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai said that “prima facie the offence alleged is not made out”. The court in its interim order also restrained the police from proceeding with the case.
Kashyap in a Facebook post in August 2016 had alleged that his auto driver and some cow vigilantes had harassed him over a leather bag he was carrying. Kashyap then filed a non cognisable complaint at Amboli police station. Subsequently, the police interrogated Kashyap and claimed that he had lodged a false complaint. The police registered a first information report (FIR) against Kashyap. The offence of section 153 A of IPC carries a jail term of up to five years if convicted. Kasyap was arrested on October 4, 2016 and sent to police custody. He is currently out on bail.
Kashyap’s lawyers Vijay Hiremath and Chetan Mali said that the police had falsely implicated him and no case could have been filed on the basis of the post.