Karnataka High Court Quashes 2020 Sedition FIR Filed Against Management Of Bidar School Over Students' Play Against CAA, NRC

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday quashed the proceedings initiated against four persons belonging to the management of Shaheen School in Bidar, where the students belonging to classes 4, 5 and 6 had staged a play on the CAA and NRC in the year 2020.

A single judge bench of Justice Hemant Chandangoudar sitting at Kalaburagi bench, allowed the petitions filed by Allauddin & others and quashed the prosecution initiated against them under sections 504, 505 (2), 124A, 153A read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.

Senior Advocate Ameet Kumar Deshpande appearing for the petitioners confirmed that the court had quashed the proceedings. A detailed order copy is awaited.

The students had staged a play on the CAA and NRC, in 2020. Following that, an FIR was registered at the Bidar New Town police station for sedition against the school authorities for performing "anti-national activities" and "spreading negative opinion" about parliamentary laws, based on a complaint by activist Nilesh Rakshala.

Pursuant to the FIR, Fareeda Begum, headmistress of Shaheen Primary and High School and Nazbunnissa, the mother of a girl student, who had uttered a dialogue, which was treated by the police as insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were arrested on January 30, 2020. A sessions court had released them on February 14, 2020.

Case Title: Allauddin & Others And State of Karnataka & ANR

Case No: CRL.P 200126/2020

Date of Order: 14-06-2023

Appearance: Senior Advocate Ameet Kumar Deshpande for Advocate Ganesh S Kalburagi for Petitioners.