The Supreme Court has rejected the demand to register an FIR against BJP leaders Anurag Thakur and Pravesh Verma for the speeches given in the year 2020. The bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta has said that saying something like ‘shoot the traitors of the country’ does not constitute a case of any cognizable crime.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (April 29, 2026) had refused to issue guidelines on ‘hate speech’. The court said that there is already an adequate provision in the law. With these comments, the court had rejected all the petitions filed in the case. In these petitions, many issues were raised including events like Dharma Sansad, TV programs like Corona Jihad, UPSC Jihad. Some of these petitions were regarding the speeches of Anurag Thakur and Pravesh Verma.

What did the court say about BJP leaders?

Regarding the speeches of the two leaders, the court said, ‘We have carefully considered the material placed on record and the status report. Our conclusion is that no cognizable offense is made out in this. Although these speeches were controversial, they cannot be considered as an indication towards any particular community. The material placed before us does not reveal any incitement to violence. In such a situation, it is insufficient for criminal prosecution.

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What did BJP leaders say in the speeches of 2020?

This matter was related to the speeches given during the Delhi Assembly elections in January 2020. In those days, protests were going on against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). These included the ongoing protest in Shaheen Bagh. CPM leader Vrinda Karat had complained about the comments made by Pravesh Verma on January 28, 2020, regarding Anurag Thakur’s speech given on January 27, 2020.

While Anurag Thakur had said ‘shoot the traitors…’, Verma had warned that if the Shaheen Bagh protesters were not stopped, they would ‘eventually enter the houses and rape and murder’. Vrinda Karat had alleged that the statements of Thakur and Verma were communally inflammatory. He had demanded an FIR from the police under sections 153A and 295A of the IPC.

Vrinda Karat tried to lodge a complaint several times

After no action was taken by the police, Vrinda Karat filed a complaint in the Magistrate Court under Section 156(3) of CrPC. The magistrate refused to order an FIR. In 2022, Delhi High Court also said that no cognizable offense is made out in this case. Now the Supreme Court has also said the same.

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