Petitioner seeking prosecution of Farooq Abdullah fails to deposit fine, SC defers hearing

The Supreme Court on Monday deferred the hearing on the plea regarding non-deposition of fine of Rs 50,000 imposed by it earlier on the petitioner, who had filed a PIL against former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah seeking his prosecution for his alleged comments on abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.

The Apex Court had on March 3, 2021, had refused to entertain a PIL filed by one Rajat Sharma, against Farooq Abdullah, seeking a direction to prosecute him for allegedly making a statement on scrapping of Article 370.

The bench of the apex court also had slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on Sharma for his frivolous petition.

A two-judge bench of the Apex Court, headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and also comprising Justice Hemant Gupta, today deferred the hearing, without giving a date.

On June 28, 2021, the Supreme Court was apprised that the petitioner had not deposited the fine of Rs 50,000, and then the Bench had issued notice to the Counsel and the parties and asked petitioners to join the virtual proceedings personally and fixed the matter for further hearing today.

The Bench while refusing to entertain the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Sharma, had on March 3, 2021, observed that the expression of views that are dissent and different from the opinion of the government cannot be termed as seditious.

( With inputs from ANI )