Supreme Court quashes Gujarat FIR against MP Imran Pratapgarhi over poem, upholds free speech
The Supreme Court quashed the Jamnagar FIR against Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi on 28 March 2025, holding that reciting a poem was protected free expression under Article 19(1)(a).
Summary
A Supreme Court bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan on 28 March 2025 quashed an FIR registered by Gujarat Police in Jamnagar against Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi over a social media video with the poem 'Ae khoon ke pyase baat suno' in the background. The court set aside the Gujarat High Court's refusal to quash the case and held that no offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was made out. It said that 75 years into the Republic, a poem, art or stand-up comedy cannot be treated as causing enmity, and that police must respect freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a). It also said police should use the preliminary inquiry under Section 173(3) of the BNSS in such speech-related cases before registering an FIR.
Key facts
- Date
- 28 March 2025
- Bench
- Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan
- Case
- Imran Pratapgadhi v. State of Gujarat (2025 INSC 410)
- FIR
- Jamnagar, Gujarat; quashed
- Poem
- 'Ae khoon ke pyase baat suno'
- Right
- Article 19(1)(a), freedom of speech and expression
- Procedure noted
- Preliminary inquiry under Section 173(3) BNSS
Practice MCQs 3 questions
On 28 March 2025, the Supreme Court quashed an FIR against which Rajya Sabha MP over a poem in a social media video?
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Correct answer: A — Imran Pratapgarhi
The Supreme Court quashed the Jamnagar FIR against Congress Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi.
Which bench of the Supreme Court decided the Imran Pratapgarhi case on 28 March 2025?
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Correct answer: B — Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan
The case was decided by a bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan.
Consider the following statements about the Supreme Court's ruling in Imran Pratapgadhi v. State of Gujarat (28 March 2025): 1. The court relied on the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. 2. The court referred to the preliminary inquiry under Section 173(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita before registering an FIR in such speech cases. Which of the above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: C — Both 1 and 2
Both are correct. The court grounded its ruling in Article 19(1)(a) and said police should use the preliminary inquiry under Section 173(3) BNSS in such cases.