digital desk- The Supreme Court has provided major relief to BJP leaders Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma in the case of alleged inflammatory speeches given during the 2020 Delhi riots and Shaheen Bagh protests. The bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta, while delivering its judgment on 29 April 2026, made it clear that the speeches given by the two leaders do not constitute any cognizable offence. With this decision, CPI(M) leaders Brinda Karat and K.M. Tiwari’s long legal battle to lodge an FIR has come to an end as the court has dismissed his petitions, finding them baseless.

In-depth investigation of video footage and presented materials

The court, in its order, underlined that after a thorough examination of the materials presented and the video footage, it was found that there was no obvious element of inciting violence against any particular community or disturbing public peace in these speeches. However, the Supreme Court upheld the findings of the Delhi High Court’s 2022 judgment but made a significant reform in its legal process. The top court clarified that filing an FIR does not require prior permission (sanction) of the government; Such permission is mandatory only when a lower court takes cognizance of the case.

BJP termed the decision as victory of truth.

During the judgment, the bench expressed serious concern over hate speech and termed it against the spirit of ‘fraternity’ of the Constitution. The Court noted that hate speech undermines the moral fabric of society, but also held that existing Indian laws are fully capable of dealing with this problem and there is no need for a new law. After this decision, BJP has called it ‘victory of truth’, while the petitioner side has called it legally disappointing. At present, with this decision the clouds of legal trouble looming over both the leaders have been completely removed.