Ashwath seeks quashing of FIR over 'finish Siddu' remark

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: For mer Minister and MLA CN Ashwath Narayan has approached the High Court seeking a direction to quash the FIR lodged against him for his remarks on then Leader of Opposition and current Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. In a meeting of BJP workers on February 15, 2023, Ashwath Narayan had called upon party supporters to “finish off Siddaramaiah” just like Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda finished Tipu Sultan.

On Monday, senior advocate Lakshmi Iyengar made a petition before Justice M Nagarpasanna and sought for its hearing the same day. He submitted that an FIR had been filed immediately after a new government has taken charge and it was of immediate concern. The Court, however, said it would consider the petition on Tuesday.

“The complainant, several months after the speech in question was made, filed a complaint on 24.05.2023 against the petitioner. There was quietness on the said speech for several months after the clarification was given by the petitioner (Ashwth Narayan) before the house. The complainant has been filed on an irrelevant and closed chapter,” the petition by Ashwath Narayan said.

The FIR has been lodged under Sections 506 (threat to cause death or grievous hurt) and Section 153 (provocation to cause rioting) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The petition claims that the former minister made the speech related to elections and not in the literal sense.

“The Petitioner during his speech likened and in a comparative statement wherein he referred to the warriors Urigowda-Nanjegowda and Tippu Sultan as a metaphor to a political fight and an electoral victory. The petitioner without any intention of causing any sort of injury either verbally or physically to the then leader of the opposition in the State, has made the speech in question only with an intention of defeating another political rival in the election and it is abundantly clear that it was not meant in any literal sense,” the petition says. The complaint against Ashwath Narayan was lodged by one M Lakshmana in the Devaraja Police Station, Mysuru.