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Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi has been warned by a Mumbai court to exercise restraint during interviews as any irresponsible statement made by a senior politician like him can incite riots. The court reprimanded Azmi over his comment on Aurangzeb, warning him to exercise restraint during interviews.
Additional Sessions Judge VG Raghuvanshi reprimanded Azmi while granting anticipatory bail to him in the case filed against the SP MLA for his remarks praising Mughal ruler Aurangzeb.
The court said in the order, a copy of which was made available on Thursday, that the offence relates to certain statements made during an interview and it means that the police are not required to seize any item or take custody for interrogation. The judge said it is a fit case for exercising discretion in his favour.
The court advised to exercise restraint in interview
The court said, “Before passing the order, I would like to caution the applicant to exercise restraint while giving the interview keeping in view the prevailing circumstances. Any irresponsible statement can incite riots and create law and order problems.”
The court said, “I hope that the applicant, being a senior politician, will understand his responsibility.” The MLA, who represents the metropolitan’s Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar constituency, was booked last week under the Indian Justice Code for his remarks praising the medieval-era Mughal emperor.
Speaking to the media, Azmi, who is the president of the Samajwadi Party’s Maharashtra unit, had said that during Aurangzeb’s reign, India’s borders extended to Afghanistan and Burma. The opposition MLA had claimed, “Our GDP was 24 per cent and India was called the golden bird.”
Controversy over Azmi’s statement on Aurangzeb
When asked about the fight between Aurangzeb and Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Azmi had called it a political fight. The remarks were made against the backdrop of the blockbuster Hindi film Chhava, based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, who was captured by Aurangzeb’s commander in 1689. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and his father, the great Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, are highly revered figures in Maharashtra.
Seeking anticipatory bail, Azmi, who has been suspended from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly till March 26, submitted in court that his statements were made to the press without any premeditated intention to insult any person or to hurt the religious feelings of any person.
Azmi’s lawyer Mubeen Solkar told the court that the FIR did not disclose any offence against the SP MLA.
This is what the court said during the hearing
Solkar had argued, the allegations do not show that he made the statements deliberately and with a malicious intent to hurt religious feelings. The prosecution had opposed his plea, saying that after the release of the film, religious sentiments of the people get agitated and under such circumstances the applicant made controversial statements in his interview.
After hearing both the sides, the court said that the investigation is still in the primary stage and hence it would not be appropriate to comment on the interview given by the applicant.
Further, the judge said that he was surprised to hear that the investigating officer did not have the video recording of the alleged interview till date and he registered the crime without seeing it.
