HC seeks MP govt's response on MLA's plea for quashing of FIR

"The petitioner has prayed for quashing of the FIR on the ground that the complainant was not present at the protest site," Masood's counsel Ajay Gupta said. The petitioner also stated that a second FIR in the same matter is not maintainable and is contrary to various verdicts of the Supreme Court, he said.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the state government on a petition of Congress MLA Arif Masood challenging an FIR registered against him over a protest held in Bhopal. The HC also served a notice to Deepak Raghuvanshi of Dharam Sanskriti Samiti, Bhopal, who had lodged a complaint against Masood for allegedly delivering a speech at a protest last month against French President Emmanuel Macron over a row against Prophet Mohammed's cartoon.

Subsequently, Bhopal Police booked Masood under section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code. "The petitioner has prayed for quashing of the FIR on the ground that the complainant was not present at the protest site," Masood's counsel Ajay Gupta said.

The petitioner also stated that a second FIR in the same matter is not maintainable and is contrary to various verdicts of the Supreme Court, he said. A division bench of acting Chief Justice Sanjay Yadav and Justice Sujoy Paul directed the government and the complainant to file their replies in the next four weeks, he said.