Uttarakhand High Court declines to quash FIR against man for instigating mob against driver carrying buffalo meat

The Uttarakhand High Court recently declined to grant any relief to a man who allegedly instigated people to lynch a man over false claims of transportation of cow meat [Madan Mohan Joshi v State of Uttarakhand and Others]..The Division Bench of Chief Justice G Narendra and Justice Subhash Upadhyay condemned the actions of accused Madan Mohan Joshi after finding that he had gone live on Facebook and warned of revolution across India."He claims that he is going to start a “Kranti” (revolution), not only here but across the country/other places. In other words he is deriding popular & democratically elected governments and the same is condemnable. In that view, the petition does not merit consideration and is, accordingly, rejected," the Court said in the order passed on November 20..According to the police, an emergency call was received last month stating that certain people had stopped a vehicle carrying buffalo meat and were assaulting the driver. The police subsequently reached the spot and saved the driver from being lynched.Joshi is alleged to have been in instrumental in instigating the mob with his false claim of the driver transporting cow meat. He had also gone live on Facebook with his claims, leading to gathering of a number of people from two different communities..The accused moved the Court seeking quashing of the criminal case registered for attempt to murder and unlawful assembly. He also sought protection from arrest. He argued that he was trying to placate the angry mob not to assault the victim. However, the State said he has been named by the injured victim's wife and despite attempts to investigate, the accused has evaded the police. A non-bailable warrant was also issued against Joshi, the Court was told..Considering the submission and police report, the Court noted that the victim and his wife have identified and named Joshi as one of the perpetrators. It also recorded that the documents in possession of the victim certified that the meat was buffalo meat."The fact remains that the petitioner admits his presence in the place of occurrence. The fact also remains that the petitioner admits the live face-book telecast. His defense is that he acted as good-Samaritan and did not indulge in assaulting the victim... The photographs clearly show bleeding injuries on the head and other parts of the body of victim," it added..However, the Court said it was not recording any conclusive finding as it was a matter of investigation and trial. On the prayer to grant Joshi some protection, the Court said,"The provisions of law, more particularly the provisions of Section 35 of the BNSS, 2023 clearly enumerate as to when a person can be arrested. In the event of any violation he can certainly approach the courts immediately. It would be preempting the fair investigation if the hands of the police are tied down, more so, when the petitioner himself admits his presence in the place of occurrence."The Court also noted that a warrant stands issued against the accused and that he moved the Court only after an application to declare him a proclaimed offender was filed by the police. Consequently, the plea was dismissed. .Advocates Lalit Sharma and Anmol Sandhu represented the petitioner.Deputy Advocate General JS Virk with advocate RK Joshi appeared for the State.Advocates Ayush Gaur and Mrinal Kanwar represented the complainant. [Read Judgment].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.