No criminal offence made out against V K Singh, says court

New Delhi: No criminal offence is "ex-facie" made out against Union Minister V K Singh, a Delhi court said while dismissing a criminal complaint seeking lodging of FIR against the former Army chief for his alleged "dog" remarks in the aftermath of burning alive of two Haryana Dalit children.

The court said for no reason Singh's statement can be seen as a remark made to demean any caste or creed and it does not see the comment as an "analogy drawn between the dog (as an animal) and humans (of a particular caste or creed)".

"A single word cannot be read in isolation and a different hue be given to it by twisting it and reading it selectively and by associating it to a particular caste. Statement has to be read in whole and when done so, it does not at all sounds derogatory or intended to degrade anyone or calculated to spread hatred in the society among different castes or creed," Metropolitan Magistrate Muneesh Garg said.

The court said, "As no criminal offence was even ex facie attracted in the matter, the present application under section 156(3) of the CrPC is dismissed."

The court further said in its order, "there was nothing in the statement to show even prima facie that V K Singh meant to say that the victims were akin to dogs or to be treated as so and on the face of it, the statement can be read to have been made with realization and feeling in mind that Central Government was being blamed for an act which, in the opinion of Singh, had nothing or much to do with government and was not sponsored by it or encouraged due to any act which could directly be attributed to its failure to maintain law and order.

"And he wanted to hit back in irk at the critics by giving the example of stoning of a dog that even for an act like dog stoning probably Central Government would be blamed when it cannot validly be blamed so."

The court passed the order on a criminal complaint filed by complainant advocate Satya Prakash Gautam who said that the Minister of State for External Affairs had hurt the sentiments of the Dalit community with such remarks.

Singh had kicked up a storm with his alleged remarks in connection with the Faridabad incident, that the government cannot be blamed if anyone throws a stone at a dog.