Six years after BJP leaders – former Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Parvesh Verma allegedly delivered hate speeches in January 2020 against those protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 – the Supreme Court has held that no cognisable offence is 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 cognisable offence is made out,” a Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta said, upholding the Delhi High Court’s decision that their remarks did not incite communal violence or public disorder.It said 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 (Shoot dead the traitors), 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 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 Criminal Procedure Code.“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 said on Wednesday.“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 said.