CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat has requested the Supreme Court to review its decision that said no cognisable offence was made out against BJP leaders Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma over their alleged hate speeches during the 2020 Delhi Assembly election.In her review petition, Karat contended the April 29 judgment had an error apparent on the face of the record as neither the trial court nor the Delhi High Court examined her allegations against the BJP leaders on merits.Karat has pointed out that despite acknowledging that prior sanction under Section 196 of the CrPC was not required for FIR, the top court concluded that the speeches did not disclose any cognisable offence.Review petitions are generally heard “in chamber” by the same judges who decided the case — and not in an open court — by a procedure called “hearing by circulation” where advocates representing the parties are not allowed to argue. But in exceptional cases, the top court allows open court hearing.Six years after BJP leaders — former Union minister Anurag Singh Thakur and Delhi Deputy CM Parvesh Verma allegedly delivered hate speeches in January 2020 against those protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 — the Supreme Court had on April 29 held that no cognisable offence was made out against them.“Upon a careful consideration of the material placed on record and the status reports, we are in agreement with the conclusion that no cognizable offence is made out,” a bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta had said, upholding the Delhi High Court’s decision that their remarks did not incite communal violence or public disorder.The bench had said that their speeches were not directed against any specific community.On January 27, 2020, Thakur had allegedly raised the slogan “desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaron saalon ko”, while Verma had allegedly said on January 28, 2020 that if not stopped, the anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh would eventually “enter houses and rape and kill people”.CPI(M) leaders Brinda Karat and KM Tiwari had challenged a June 22, 2023 Delhi High Court order refusing to order registration of an FIR against the two BJP leaders.The Delhi High Court had upheld a Delhi court’s August 26, 2020 order declining to direct registration of an FIR against the BJP leaders under Sections 153A, 153B, 295A, 504, 505 and 506 of the IPC for want of prior sanction for prosecution.While agreeing with the high court’s decision not to order registration of an FIR against Thakur and Verma, the top court had faulted the high court for legal reasoning that prior sanction was required before a Magistrate could order an FIR under Section 156(3) of the CrPC.“The scheme of CrPC does not contemplate any embargo on the direction for registration of an FIR or the conduct of investigation at the pre-cognisance stage. To hold otherwise would amount to introducing a restriction not envisaged by the legislature,” the bench had said.“Accordingly, while we disapprove of the reasoning adopted by the high court on the issue of prior sanction, we find no ground to interfere with the ultimate conclusion…,” the top court had said.