According to a DNA report, on Thursday, an all India Brahmin body, Vipra Foundation filed a defamation case against Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and others in Jodhpur for hurting religious sentiments and causing communal conflict. Advocate Hastimal Saraswat filed the case under section 295A 500, 501, 504, 505 and 120B of IPC.
The DNA has quoted Saraswat saying, “I have filed the case under section 295A (hurting religious sentiments), 500 (defamation), 501 (propagating & promoting act of defamation), 504 (using language that can provoke a section to commit offence against another section), 505 and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC before the metropolitan magistrate number 4, Jodhpur. It will come up for hearing on December 1. The sections involve hurting religious sentiments, defamation, propagating and promoting the act of defamation (which in this case was done by posting the said picture on twitter), using such language that can provoke a section to commit offence against another section, creating a situation that can cause ill will between two sections and could result in conflict and criminal Conspiracy.”
Saraswat further said, “Jack Dorsey has committed the crime of triggering hatred for a community and we would proceed against him in the court.”
The defamation case has been filed over the controversial and anti-Brahmin poster that twitter CEO Jack endorsed. Jack was photographed holding a sign which promised to ‘Smash Brahminical Patriarchy’. Plain and simple, this is Hate Speech. It is hate-mongering against a group which is repeatedly vilified and attacked simply for being Brahmins. It is hate-mongering against a group against which a sustained, coordinated and state-sponsored vilification drive has been going on for too long including vicious demonization even in school text books.
During Twitter CEO @jack's visit here, he & Twitter's Legal head @vijaya took part in a round table with some of us women journalists, activists, writers & @TwitterIndia's @amritat to discuss the Twitter experience in India. A very insightful, no-words-minced conversation 😊 pic.twitter.com/LqtJQEABgV
— Anna MM Vetticad (@annavetticad) November 18, 2018
Additionally, an application has also been submitted to the Jodhpur police to file an FIR in the ‘Smash Brahminical Patriarchy’ row. Mumbai chapter of the Brahmin body has also declared that it will file a case against Dorsey.
Functionary of Vipra Foundation and litigant- Rajkumar Sharma- said that the post was “anti-Brahmin” and employed coarse language, which was humiliating and this, intolerable for the community, PTI reported.
Founder Convenor of Vipra Foundation Sushil Ojha said, “The case has been filed as members of the Brahmin community across the world are offended. We will demand that he unconditionally apologize.”
The Mumbai Chapter of the Vipra Foundation is also planning to file a case against Jack Dorsey. Speaking to DNA, National general secretary of Vipra Foundation, Sunil Sharma said, “We are filing a case in Mumbai too because either Dorsey’s made an uninformed comment or it was done knowingly. Both ways it is insulting to the Brahmin community and creates a situation that affects the community’s right to pursue its ancient profession.”
The court will hear the case on December 1.