Nagpur, March 17 The Bombay High Court on Tuesday sought a response from the Maharashtra Home Department and the city police regarding a petition demanding action against a journalist and another person for allegedly making derogatory statements about Mahatma Gandhi.
During a program organized by the Sakal Hindu Samaj Sammelan, senior journalist Pushpendra Kulshrestha made highly objectionable statements, claiming that Gandhi cannot be termed the Father of the Nation, according to petitioner Ashwin Bais, a local Congress functionary.
The petition, filed through Advocate Akash Moon, sought a direction from the high court to the Sitabardi police in the city to investigate the complaint against Kulshrestha and Nishant Gandhi, the organizer of the February 15 program.
Justices Anil Pansare and Nivedita Mehta of the Nagpur bench of the high court issued notices to the state home department, Nagpur Police Commissioner, Kulshrestha, and Nishant Gandhi, seeking responses by March 30.
The petitioner must provide the audio clip of the speech to the police and also submit it to the court, the division bench said.