UP Court Orders FIR Against Salman Khurshid for Comments on Hindutva in His Book

The court ordered an FIR against the Congress leader for comparing ‘Sanatan’ Hindu religion to ISIS in his book.

Salman Khurshid’s book, which was released in November, trigged a major controversy over the comment made in the chapter ‘The Saffron Sky.’

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

A court in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow on Wednesday, 22 December, has ordered the police to file a First Information Report (FIR) against Congress leader Salman Khurshid for his comments comparing Hindutva to ISIS and Boko Haram terrorist groups in his book Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Shantanu Tyagi ordered the Bakshi Ka Talab police in-charge to register an FIR and send a copy “within three days..

The order came on an application moved under section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) by one Shubhangi Tiwari. He had alleged that some comments made in the book have hurt the religious feelings of Hindus.

According to a report by news agency PTI, the magistrate said in its order, “From a perusal of the application and the arguments raised in its support, I am of the opinion that cognisable offences are made out against Salman Khurshid.”

Tiwari had moved an application at the police station for the registration of an FIR against the Congress leader, but the police did not take action and hence, the plea was filed in the court.

Salman Khurshid’s book, which was released in November, triggered a major controversy over the comment made in the chapter ‘The Saffron Sky.’

A sentence written in the chapter read, “Sanatan Dharma and classical Hinduism known to sages and saints were being pushed aside by a robust version of Hindutva, by all standards a political version similar to the jihadist Islam of groups like ISIS and Boko Haram of recent years.”

(With inputs from PTI.)