LUCKNOW: Bringing some relief to Varun Gandhi, a Pilibhit court on Wednesday acquitted the BJP MP in one of the two 'hate speech' cases registered against him in the run-up to 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP leader faced charges under IPC and Representation of People Act for promoting enmity among people and supporting acts prejudicial to communal harmony while making allegedly inflammatory speeches.
The first FIR against Varun was lodged on March 17, 2009 at Barkhera police station and the second one a day later in Dal Chand for allegedly making speeches with communal overtones. A third FIR was lodged on March 28, 2009 when Varun's supporters attacked police after the court remanded him in judicial custody.
On Wednesday, the court acquitted the Pilibhit MP in the second case on the basis of eyewitness accounts and a report of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Chandigarh, which concluded that video CD of the alleged 'hate speech' had been 'doctored'. The court said 51 of the 53 eye-witnesses testified in favour of the BJP leader.
Varun had maintained that the cases were filed to malign his image. Defending his campaign statements, the BJP MP had argued that in one of the speeches, he had referred to 'bad elements' while the tapes of the second speech were 'doctored'.
The then Mayawati government had slapped the National Security Act (NSA) against Varun who was finally released on bail by the Supreme Court which directed the state government to drop the NSA charges.
In September, Varun had urged the Samajwadi Party (SP) government to withdraw the "politically motivated" cases against him. Following his request, the government had asked the Pilibhit administration whether it was possible to drop the charges.
Welcoming the verdict, Varun said in a statement: "I have always reposed my faith in the judiciary and I welcome the decision of the honourable court that upholds my commitment to a strong and united India. I would like to thank all the people who have stood by me and believed in me through this difficult time."
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Varun Gandhi acquitted in hate speech case
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Varun Gandhi acquitted in hate speech case
