The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday granted interim relief to now suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. It also directed that Sharma should not be arrested until August 10.
The erstwhile BJP spokesperson had filed a fresh application to revive her earlier plea seeking to club all nine FIRs registered against her across India.
Appearing for Sharma, advocate Maninder Singh told the court that there are serious life threats to Sharma because of which she is not in a position to travel.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and J B Pardiwala issued the order. This is the same bench that had earlier refused to entertain Sharma’s petition on July 1.
“In order to explore this, let notice be issued to the respondents returnable by 10th August. Copies of the main writ petition are also forwarded along with the notice. Liberty is granted for dasti and service through standing counsels. Meanwhile, as an interim measure, it is directed that no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioner pursuant to the impunged FIRs or such FIRs/complaints which may be registered/entertained in the future pertaining to the same telecast dated May 26,” the bench said in its order.
The Nupur Sharma Controversy
In a TV debate conducted by Times Now Group Editor Navika Kumar, the BJP spokesperson made insulting statements against the Prophet.
There was instant condemnation against her but the BJP took no steps to correct the same. The news soon spread to the Arab countries who sharply criticized the Narendra Modi-led government for not taking any action.
There were also reports of many superstores in Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain removing Indian products from their shelves. After the backlash, the Centre issued a press release stating that it “strongly denounces insults of any religious personalities of any religion”.
The party suspended Sharma, after which she issued a public apology stating, “If my words have caused discomfort or hurt anyone’s religious feelings whatsoever, I unconditionally withdraw my statement,”
Following her derogatory statements, protests broke out across India that soon spread to Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana, West Bengal, Delhi, and Karnataka.
Two young Muslim men were killed when protestors clashed with the police.
However, the protests soon turned deadly for the protestors, as district administrations across the BJP-ruled states started demolishing houses.
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