Patna High Court Dismisses Summons Against Nityanand Rai

The Patna High Court has quashed a summons against Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, related to an alleged inflammatory speech. The three-year-old summons had been issued by a lower court after an FIR was filed against Rai during his campaign for an election in Araria.

Justice Chandra Shekhar Jha allowed the petition filed by Rai, who was challenging the Chief Judicial Magistrate's decision from April 2022. The CJM had summoned Rai under relevant IPC sections and the Representation of People Act based on allegations from a 2018 FIR.

Rai was accused of making an inflammatory statement during his tenure as BJP state president, suggesting that if the RJD won the bypoll, Araria would become a base for ISIS. The High Court ruled that the summons was issued mechanically and found no evidence that the speech was malignant or harmful to any religious community.

(With inputs from agencies.)