Overview
- C.T. Ravi delivered a speech at a BJP event in Chikkamagaluru that circulated widely on social media and included derogatory references to Muslim religious leaders, with the remarks occurring on July 23.
- Chikkamagaluru Town Police registered an FIR under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which covers statements meant to promote hatred or enmity between groups, based on a complaint by Jamia Masjid president Mudassir Pasha.
- Investigators have opened a criminal probe and are reviewing video footage, audio recordings and social media clips to determine whether the comments meet the legal threshold for communal provocation.
- Police went to serve a notice directing Ravi to appear for questioning but he refused to accept it and his supporters tore down the pasted notice, producing heated confrontations outside his home.
- Muslim organisations have demanded Ravi’s immediate arrest while BJP leaders call the case politically motivated, raising the prospect of further local tensions and a legal test of how Section 353(2) is applied to public speech.