'No coercive action to be taken': SC grants protection from arrest to Nupur Sharma

New Delhi, July 19: In a big relief to former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted protection to her from arrest in multiple FIRs over Prophet Mohammad remarks. This came after the apex court was hearing a plea moved by her seeking a stay on her possible arrest and clubbing nine cases filed against her across India in alleged hate statements on Prophet Muhammad.

 

 

A bench headed by Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala on Tuesday issued notice to all respondents including various states where FIRs have been registered in the case and also to the Union of India. The bench said, meanwhile, as an interim measure, no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioner.

 

"In light of recent events, the concern of the court is as to how can the petitioner avail the legal remedy. In order to explore the possibility... Let notice be issued to the respondents. The matter was posted for hearing on August 10. Copies of the main writ petition shall also be supplied to the respondents," said the bench.

 

 

The court asked various states to respond to her request to combine multiple FIRs against her into one. Delhi, Maharashtra, Telengana, West Bengal, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Assam are the states that have been asked to respond to her case. Apart from this, no new cases can be filed.

 

Nupur Sharma's lawyer told the Supreme Court that she had been facing increasing threats to her life since the court's scathing order on July 1. "There is ever increasing threat to her safety. No amount of security could help her. Whatever happened in Supreme Court last time may have happened. But there is a real and genuine threat now. In Bengal also there is an FIR against her," said Nupur Sharma's lawyer Maninder Singh.

 

 

After the July 1 order, she pleaded, there had been instances like an Ajmer Dargah employee threatening on video to slit her throat and another UP resident abusing her and threatening to behead her. "On July 1 we had given liberty to the petitioner to seeking other legal remedies. But now she points out that it's become impossible for her to seek other legal remedies. And there is an immediate need to protect her life and liberty," said Justice Surya Kant.

 

In the July 1 hearing, the Supreme Court had said Nupur Sharma should apologise to the country for triggering tension with her comments. "The way she has ignited emotions across the country. This lady is single-handedly responsible for what is happening in the country," the judges had said.

 

 

"She actually has a loose tongue and has made all kinds of irresponsible statements on TV and set the entire country on fire. Yet, she claims to be a lawyer of 10 years standing... She should have immediately apologised for her comments to the whole country," the Supreme Court had said.