The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to quash the FIR filed against singer and music composer Vishal Dadlani for hurting the religious sentiments of the Jain community with his tweet on monk Tarun Sagar. The top court also rejected his plea seeking protection from arrest and directed him to approach the Bombay High Court for both appeals, PTI reported.
Dadlani had tweeted a photograph of the spiritual guru, saying he was making a "monkery of democracy", after Sagar addressed the Haryana Assembly in the nude on August 26. He later apologised for "offending the peaceful Jain community", saying he had not intended to "cause any offence whatsoever". "I'm not a religious man, but I know how much religion means to believers," he had said.
Advocate Karuna Nundy, who is representing Dadlani, sought protection from arrest for his client at least till they moved the high court, but the Supreme Court rejected this request, as well. A resident of Ambala Cantonment, Punit Arora, had filed the FIR against him for his tweet, and a case was registered against the music artiste for promoting enmity between classes, maliciously insulting religious beliefs and a few other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the police said.
The monk, however, said he "did not care" what people said about him. "I don't think he [Dadlani] knows anything about Jainism or our beliefs. He has a right to differ, criticise" Sagar had said.
Here's the tweet that got Dadlani in trouble:
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