Allahabad HC dismisses Maurya',s plea to quash case against him

Lucknow, Nov 1 (IANS) The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court has dismissed a plea of Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya, seeking quashing of the proceedings being conducted in a court in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh district for allegedly burning the copies of Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas.

Passing the order, the bench said that from perusal of the charge sheet and other material on record, a prima-facie case was made out to make him stand on trial in the lower court.

The bench was of the view that public representatives should refrain from “indulging in any act which disturbs communal harmony”.

A bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi passed the order on the petition moved by Maurya.

In his petition, Maurya had challenged the charge sheet and the summoning order passed by the lower court directing him to appear in the court to face the trial.

A lawyer, Santosh Kumar Mishra, had lodged an FIR with the City Kotwali police on February 1 in Pratapgarh against Maurya, Samajwadi Party MLA Dr R.K. Verma and some others. It was alleged that the protesters burnt copies of Ramcharitmanas.