PILIBHIT: BJP leader Varun Gandhi was acquitted in a 2009 hate speech case on Wednesday. A local court provided relief to Varun Gandhi in one of the cases registered against him.
Varun had allegedly made inflammatory comments against a particular community in his speeches at public meetings in Pilibhit during the 2009 Lok Sabha election campaign.
The BJP leader was booked under various sections of the IPC and the People's Representation Act for promoting enmity and acts prejudicial against communal harmony.
The first FIR was lodged on March 17, 2009, at Barkhera police station for an inflammatory speech during a public meeting on March 8, 2009.
The second FIR was lodged at Sadar Kotwali on March 18, 2009, again for allegedly making a speech with communal overtones in Dalchand locality.
Varun had strongly denied the charges and termed the case as an attempt to malign him. He said that in one instance he was referring to bad elements and in the second one, the tapes have been doctored. The cases were registered against him on the directions of the Election Commission. Later, Varun surrendered before the court which sent him to jail under judicial custody.
In 2009, the BSP government slapped National Security Act on the 32-year-old BJP leader and he was shifted to Etah Jail. However, in May 2009, the NSA was revoked on the direction of the Supreme Court and he was released on bail. Varun also won the LS election from Pilibhit.
Significantly, Varun in September wrote to the SP government requesting withdrawal of cases describing them as "politically motivated". On his request, the government sought a report from the Pilibhit administration on whether the cases could be withdrawn or not in public interest.
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