BJP legislators get advance bail in case over Kuruba statement

Bengaluru: A special court for MPs/MLAs has granted anticipatory bail to BJP legislators Chalavadi Narayanaswamy and T S Srivatsa in a case registered against them for their statements opposing the state government’s decision to add the Kurubas to Scheduled Tribes (ST) community. 

Special court judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat directed the police to release the petitioners in the event of their arrest on executing personal bond for Rs 50,000 each with one surety for the like sum. He further directed the petitioners not to threaten or tamper with the prosecution witnesses and to cooperate in the investigation. 

The Vidhana Soudha police had registered an FIR under BNS Section 353(2) against Narayanaswamy and Srivatsa based on the complaint filed by Siddanna Teji. 

The complainant said that the statements, opposing the inclusion of Kurubas to the ST category, were made to incite the ST and Valmiki communities against Kurubas, which would hurt the peace, harmony and public tranquility in the state. 

The advocate for the legislators contended that the statements were twisted in such a manner to ensure that a false criminal case could be registered only to harass. 

The court noted that there are no materials to indicate that the petitioners had given a statement to incite the general public or cause a mischievous act, which would disturb the public peace and tranquility. 

“It is the settled principles of law that in a democratic country, every person, who is the citizen, is having valid rights to protest against any of the policy matters and that too when the petitioners are the elected members and people’s representatives, they have a right to legitimately protest against the policy decisions of the government. Merely because some statements were given, it cannot be considered that they had given statements only to disturb the peace and tranquility between Scheduled Tribe and Valmiki community,” the court said.