Srinagar court summons Jitendra Tyagi (formerly Waseem Rizvi) on complaint for statements against Islam, Prophet Muhammad

A local court in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar district has taken cognisance of a complaint filed by one Danish Hassan Dar against former Shia Central Waqf Board chairperson Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi (formerly Waseem Rizvi) who had recently converted from Islam to Hinduism [Danish Hassan Dar V/s Jitender Narayan Singh Tyagi]..Judicial Magistrate First Class Srinagar Shahber Ayaz issued summons to Tyagi on a complaint filed against him for insulting Islam and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad after he stated that Islam is a terrorist organisation created by Prophet Muhammad, and is not a religion."Let summons be issued to the accused calling upon him to appear before this Court and answer the allegations levelled against him," the Court ordered. The complaint by Dar was filed before the Judicial Magistrate on December 15 last year, after the complainant received no response on his written complaint to the police.The complaint alleged violation of Sections 153A (promoting enmity between religious groups), 295A (hurting religious sentiments) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code ..The complainant stated that Tyagi, while speaking to news reporters in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh after converting from Islam to Hinduism on December 6, 2021 made allegations against Islam and the prophet..Tyagi disrespected the holy book of Muslims, 'Quran', by calling it a false frivolous literature; and the statement was telecast by several national television news channels like AAJ TAK, Zee News etc. It was also publishedin daily newspapers of the country including the Times of India on December 7, the complainant claimed..Counsel for the complainant advocate Amir Masoodi argued that Tyagi hurt the religious feelings of the complainant by his statements and the same cannot be overlooked or ignored..He argued that the statements by Tyagi has disturbed the harmony and peace and was capable of creating a "disequilibrium". .The Court after considering the submissions said that there was sufficient material on record to issue process against the accused person for the offences which were prima facie made out against him.."At the stage of issuing the process the court is mainly concerned with allegations made in the complaint or the evidence and other material on record and the court is only to be prima facie satisfied as to whether there are sufficient grounds for proceeding against the accused persons. It is not necessary for the court to enter into a detailed discussion on the merits or demerits of the case," the order said while asking Tyagi to appear.