The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the arrest of sociologist Ashis Nandy for an alleged anti-Dalit remark he made during the Jaipur Literary Festival (JLF). Nandy has requested the apex court to quash all the FIRs registered against him.
"We are moving the Supreme Court for quashing of the FIR as well as laying down the guidelines in terms of something which constitutes an offence against SC/ST Act and something which is said in 'freedom of speech'," Nandy's lawyer Gaurav Kanth said on Thursday.
Kanth informed that there are four FIRs registered against Nandy.
"To our knowledge, I think there are four of them which have been registered. We don't have the copy of the FIRs, but we know one each is in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Nasik and Raipur and there is something in Patna too," he added.
The lawyer said that his main plea in the apex court is that there was no intent when Nandy had spoken these statements.
To a poser on why the police had not yet questioned Nandy in connection with this case, Kanth said that Nandy was all ready for cooperation in this regard.
Asserting that he has worked for Dalits, OBCs and adivasis for 45 years of his life, Nandy had earlier on Tuesday said that he was ready to go to jail if tried under the Atrocities Act and convicted.
