Prayagraj, Mar 7 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has refused to quash an FIR lodged against Priyanka Bharti for allegedly tearing a few pages of "Manusmriti" during a live debate on a new channels.

A bench of Justices Vivek Kumar Birla and Anish Kumar Gupta passed the order after hearing the plea of RJD spokesperson Bharti.

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"We find that the act of tearing pages of Manusmriti holy book of a particular religion in a live TV debate organised by the two television channels was nothing but a prima facie reflection of a malicious and deliberate intention of the petitioner and is an act done without any lawful excuse or without any just cause," the bench said.

The court further observed that Bharti was a "highly qualified person" and took part in the debate as the party spokesperson.

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"It cannot be pleaded that the act was done ignorantly. Therefore, in our opinion, prima facie a cognisable offence is made out," the court said in an order on February 28.

Referring to several Supreme Court rulings, the bench held no case was "made out for interference" with the FIR.

"The writ petition is accordingly dismissed," it added.

The FIR was lodged against Bharti on December 29, 2024 under Section 299 BNS in Aligarh following which she move a plea for quashing and sought protection from arrest.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)