Several criminal cases have been filed against Baba Ramdev at various places for his controversial remarks made in April 2014 saying that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi visits houses of “Dalits for honeymoon and picnic”. He has approached the Supreme Court for transferring these criminal cases filed at different places to be clubbed together for being tried at a common place. On an advocate objecting to such transfer petitions being entertained, the Supreme Court observed that a person cannot be prosecuted at 20 different places for a single speech.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu, Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice R.K. Agrawal, observed that, “If he (Ramdev) is wrong then he should be punished but simultaneously, he cannot not be prosecuted at 20 different places”.
The Supreme Court agreed that those who got offended from the statement made by Baba Ramdev may have a right to file a case against him under the appropriate provisions of law, however the court observed that he (Baba Ramdev) also has a right since these cases at different places pertain to a single speech.
The court directed Siddharth Luthra, the senior counsel appearing for Baba Ramdev, that separate transfer petitions should be filed seeking transfer of the case filed against him at different places and the court also directed that these transfer petitions be tagged for a common hearing in the Supreme Court.
It may be pointed out that on 9 May 2014, the Supreme Court had stayed the proceedings of different cases filed against Baba Ramdev for his above-mentioned remarks, by observing as under:
“Subject to petitioner’s depositing a sum of Rs. 10 Lacs (Rupees Ten Lakhs Only) within two weeks in the Registry of this Court, further proceedings in complaints reference of which has been given in prayer clause (i) of the Transfer Petitions and complaints referred to in Annexures (A-1), (A-2), (A-3) and (A-6) of the compilation of additional documents shall remain stayed.
It is clarified that issuance of notice shall not be construed in any manner as an expression of opinion on the merits of the complaints.”
The Court had issued notice to the concerned police authorities in the states where these cases had been registered against him.
After Baba Ramdev made the above remarks, an FIR was lodged against him at Mahanagar police station in Lucknow under Section 171(g) of IPC for making alleged false statement in connection with an election. Thereafter, other cases were filed against him at various places for the same speech. The transfer petitions filed by Baba Ramdev seek a direction from the Supreme Court to club all these cases together and to deal with them at Lucknow or any other place directed by the Supreme Court.
These transfer petitions are yet to be decided by the Supreme Court. The above observations were made by the Supreme Court during the course of the proceedings, when an advocate took strong objection to the transfer petitions being entertained. The next date of hearing in the Supreme Court is 9 February 2015.
