Zakir Naik Withdraws Plea In Supreme Court Seeking Clubbing Of Hate Speech FIRs

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (October 23) allowed Islamic preacher Zakir Naik to withdraw his write petition seeking to club multiple FIRs registered against him in Maharashtra and Karnataka for hate speech under Section 153A of the IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, etc.).

A bench comprising Justice Abhay Oka, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Justice Augustine George Masih dismissed the 2013 petition after Senior Advocate Aditya Sondhi for Naik sought permission to withdraw with liberty to approach the concerned High Courts.

“Learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioner on instructions seeks permission to withdraw the petition with liberty to file appropriate proceedings before the appropriate High Courts for appropriate relief. Accordingly the writ petition is disposed of as withdrawn with liberty asked”, the Court ordered.

Last week, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had raised preliminary objection to the maintainability of the petition. He argued that Naik, who had been declared a fugitive by court of law, could not avail of the remedy under Article 32 of the Constitution.

The bench had allowed the state to file counter affidavit raising the objection to maintainability.

On that day, the advocate on record for Naik had explained if the court granted liberty, Naik might approach the concerned High Courts for quashing instead of troubling the Supreme Court, as six FIRs remain pending—four in Maharashtra and two in Karnataka.

Zakir Naik has been under investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) for several years. He faces charges under Section 153A of the IPC for promoting enmity between different religious groups and under Sections 10, 13, and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

A special NIA court in Mumbai issued a non-bailable warrant against Naik in 2017. Naik has failed to appear before the court and is reportedly living in Malaysia.

In 2022, the Central Government declared Naik's Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) as an unlawful association under the UAPA. A one-member tribunal, headed by Justice DN Patel, confirmed the ban in March 2022, citing that IRF's activities were prejudicial to the sovereignty, unity, and security of India.

Case no. – WP (Crl.) No. 99/2013

Case Title – Zakir Abdul Karim Naik v. State of Maharashtra and Ors.

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