NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday asked the complainant challenging the dismissal of a criminal complaint against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to submit video links of his alleged objectionable speech delivered during an election rally in Karnataka in 2023, saying it wanted to examine the footage before proceeding further.The Rouse Avenue Court was hearing a revision petition against a magistrate court order that had refused to take cognisance of the complaint and dismissed the case against Kharge over alleged hate speech.Special Judge Jitendra Singh directed the complainant, advocate Ravinder Gupta, to file links to news clips containing the speech delivered at an election rally in Naregal, Karnataka, in April 2023.Counsel for the revisionist, advocate Gagan Gandhi, advanced rebuttal arguments during the hearing. The matter has now been listed for clarification on August 6.The revision petition seeks to set aside the November 11, 2025 order of the Tis Hazari Court, which had dismissed the complaint filed by Gupta, an advocate associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).On April 2, Kharge filed his response before the revision court, denying the allegations and questioning the jurisdiction of the Special Court to entertain the plea.According to the reply, although Special Courts are empowered to try cases involving MPs and MLAs, they do not possess revisional jurisdiction over orders passed by a Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC).“Therefore, the present Revision Petition is not maintainable under Section 438 of the BNSS, 2023 (Section 397 of the CrPC),” the reply stated.Kharge also denied allegations of promoting enmity between communities and argued that no offence was made out under Sections 153A, 153B, 295A, 499, 120B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.The Congress chief further contended that the order under challenge was not a review or recall of the magistrate court’s December 9, 2024 decision refusing to direct the registration of an FIR.“Instead, it was passed after considering the complaint and the statement recorded under Section 200 of the CrPC,” the reply said, adding that the revision petition was devoid of merit.The Rouse Avenue Court had issued notice to Kharge on January 29 this year on the revision plea.The controversy stems from remarks allegedly made by Kharge during an election rally in Karnataka on April 27, 2023.The complainant alleged that the speech contained derogatory remarks against the BJP, RSS and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and claimed that he had been defamed as an RSS member.However, while dismissing the complaint on November 11, 2025, the Tis Hazari Court held that Kharge’s remarks targeted political and ideological principles rather than any religion, caste or community.Judicial Magistrate First Class Preeti Rajoria observed that, “The statement is merely aimed at the political and ideological principles and not at any community defined by religion, caste, or ethnicity.”The court also found no evidence that the speech had incited violence or disturbed public order.“It is a settled position of law that mere criticism, however harsh and offensive, is not sufficient to make it punishable as ‘hate speech’ unless it tends to incite hatred between two groups,” the magistrate had observed.The JMFC further held that no prima facie offence of defamation under Section 500 of the IPC was made out.“It is pertinent to note that cognisance for the offence under Section 500 IPC is also barred in the present case, since the complaint has not been filed by the victim himself, the Prime Minister,” the order had said.Relying on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Pravasi Bhalai Sangathan vs Union of India, the magistrate court held that there must be a direct nexus between alleged hate speech and incitement to violence or public disorder.(With ANI inputs)
