Bombay High Court Issues Notice On NCP Leader Jitendra Awhad's Plea To Club 3 FIRs Filed Against Him For Tearing Dr Ambedkar's Photo

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday issued notice on a plea filed by senior NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Jitendra Awhad, who has sought clubbing of the multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) lodged against him for allegedly tearing the photograph of Dr BR Ambedkar while staging a protest to the Maharashtra government's decision to include Manu Smriti's controversial writings in the syllabus of the primary schools.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj Chavan issued notice and made the same returnable after two weeks.

In his plea filed filed through advocate Vinod Uttekar, the sitting Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) has urged the bench to club the three FIRs lodged against him in Raigad and Pune districts.

According to the petition, two FIRs are lodged against Awhad at the Mahad Police Station in Raigad district while one has been registered with the Bundgarden Police Station in Pune. He is booked under sections 153, 153A, 295A and 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with the relevant provisions of the Bombay Police Act.

As per Awhad, he learnt about the decision of the State to include the "controversial" writings of Manu Smriti in the syllabus for the primary schools. He contended that the writings in question have already been criticised by prominent leaders in India. The plea pointed out that soon after its criticism from various strata of the society, the State clarified that it would not proceed with its proposal of inclusion of the controversial writings in the syllabus.

In pursuance to the same, the petitioner held agitation on May 29, 2024 near the Chavdar lake in Mahad, Raigad, where he claimed, Dr Ambedkar too protested several decades ago to get the right of the marginalized section of the society, to drink water from common places.

"During the protests, the petitioner tore the disputed writings and along with it, unknowingly and accidentally, tore photo of Dr Ambedkar. The petitioner was under the belief that the papers he was tearing were actually the disputed writings. However, by creating an impression that the petitioner intentionally wanted to disturb the peace and harmony in the society, at least 3 FIRs were lodged against him," the plea stated.