Supreme Court Gives Big Relief To Nupur Sharma, Combines All FIRs

The motion by Nupur Sharma to combine all of the police charges against her has been granted by the Supreme Court. In order to avoid having to defend herself in many states, she petitioned the Supreme Court.

As the BJP's spokesman, Sharma was suspended in June after her remarks regarding the Prophet Muhammad sparked widespread unrest in India and a string of formal complaints from Gulf nations. FIRs, or First Information Reports, were filed against her in a number of states across the nation. The Supreme Court's two judges held Sharma "single-handedly accountable" for the violence that erupted after her remark about the Prophet during a debate on a TV channel during a hearing on July 1.

Since travelling to each state for court appearances would put her and her family at risk of city security, Sharma asked the Supreme Court at the hearing on July 1 to combine all FIRs filed against her nationwide and move them to Delhi. She had argued after the July 1 ruling, that there had been incidents such as an employee of the Ajmer Dargah threatening to slit her neck on camera and another resident of Uttar Pradesh assaulting her and threatening to behead her.

SC Agrees To Nupur Sharma's Petition:

Nupur Sharma's petition was heard today on Wednesday. A special bench composed of Justices JB Pardiwala and Surya Kant heard the plea. The case was originally scheduled for hearing on August 10. However, it was left off of the cause list that was released by the Supreme Court Registry the night before. The matter was scheduled for a hearing at 3:30 PM today, according to a revised list that was made public on Wednesday afternoon.

The Supreme Court today said that the Delhi Police will receive all police charges against Sharma, and they will be clubed together. The judges acknowledged that they had considered her death threats into account. The police in the national capital, a Union Territory, report to the Home Ministry headed by Amit Shah.

Suggested Reading: Nupur Sharma Controversy: Speaking From Public Platforms Calls For Accountability

On July 19, the Supreme Court ruled that Sharma could not be arrested in connection with the nine cases brought against her for her remarks about the Prophet. In addition to Jammu & Kashmir and Assam, cases have been brought against her in Delhi, Maharashtra, Telangana, West Bengal, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh.