NEW DELHI: In a big relief to now suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma, the Supreme Court clubbed and transferred all FIRs against her in the Prophet comment case to Delhi on Wednesday.
In a departure from the convention of the first FIR principle, the Supreme Court ordered that FIRs against Nupur all across the country in the case be transferred to Delhi. The first FIR in the case was lodged in Maharashtra.
In further relief to Sharma, the Supreme Court provided protection to Sharma in the case till the investigation of the case is complete.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and J B Pardiwala ordered, “Since this court has already taken cognisance of a serious threat to the life and liberty of the petitioner, and specific instances in relation thereto have been cited in our previous order dated July 19, 2022, besides those contained the additional affidavit filed by the petitioner today, we direct that all the FIRs…be transferred and clubbed for the purpose of investigation by Delhi Police.”
The investigation in the Delhi FIR case is being handled by Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit. After today’s Supreme Court order, IFSO will handle all the investigations in the case.
In a TV debate on May 26, then BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma made comments against Prophet Mohammed. The clip of the comment was made viral by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair.
In its order on July 19, the Supreme Court provided Sharma protection from arrest.
On July 1, the Supreme Court refused to club the FIRs in the case together and made severe observations against Sharma. That petition was withdrawn by Sharma.