The Calcutta High Court has turned down a petition accusing Bengali singer Nachiketa Chakraborty of offending religious sentiments through a clip from one of his concerts, allegedly containing objectionable comments about Lord Ram.

Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta upheld the trial court’s decision, which found insufficient evidence in the plea filed by the secretary of the Bishwa Hindu Parishad.

“This Court also finds that the application filed under Section 156(3) of the Cr.P.C., relying solely on social media content without specifying date, time, or place, and lacking authenticity, cannot form the basis to take cognizance of such an offence, despite the seriousness of the allegation. Further, the record does not indicate any other complaints or incidents of public unrest to date,” the judgment stated.

“In light of these facts, and given the insufficient materials submitted by the petitioner, this Court finds no error or perversity in the order dated 04.08.2023 by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate rejecting the Section 156(3) application. Hence, the revision petition is without merit,” the court added.

The allegation claimed that the singer, during a live concert, incited the public, particularly Indian citizens, and hurt the religious sentiments of Lord Ram’s followers.

A police report obtained by the Magistrate showed that Nachiketa Chakraborty neither resides within the concerned jurisdiction nor had conducted any live concert under Shyampukur police station.

The petitioner argued that the Magistrate erred by disregarding the hate speech circulated on social media, and that territorial jurisdiction was irrelevant as the petitioner’s official address fell within the police station’s limits. They claimed that a video of the concert, circulating online, insulted certain religious communities, criticised the education system, and undermined national integrity.

The court observed that while the allegations appeared serious, the magistrate’s inquiry confirmed that Nachiketa did not reside in Shyampukur PS nor had he performed any concert or spread hate speech there in the past three years.

Consequently, the court upheld the magistrate’s findings and dismissed the plea.

Case: Anirban Bhattacharya Versus The State of West Bengal & Another
Case No: C.R.R. 4119 of 2023