"Karnataka High Court has granted a stay of four weeks on First Information Report (FIR) filed against Dr. CN Ashwath Narayan, a former minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Karnataka, India."

Justice M Nagaprasanna opined that the offense of provocation with intent to cause a riot was not prima facie established in this case. The court observed that for the offense to be considered, the statement should be so provocative that it could result in or incite rioting.

The FIR was registered based on a complaint against Narayan for his remarks against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during an election rally before the State Assembly elections. Narayan was booked under Sections 506 (criminal intimidation) and 153 (provocation with intent to cause a riot) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The court has asked the state to respond to Narayan's plea seeking the quashing of the FIR within four weeks.

During the hearing, Narayan's legal representative argued that the complaint was made by someone who was not present when the remarks were allegedly made, and no video or audio recording of the statement was provided.

They also claimed that a second complaint for the same offence could not be registered once a non-cognizable report was already registered based on an earlier complaint. Narayan contended that his remarks were made during the election campaign to motivate his party workers and defeat his political rivals through electoral polls, without any intention to cause harm or incite violence.

Narayan further alleged that the complainant was trying to create disturbance and capitalize on the electoral victory by portraying the political statement as enmity and hatred among the public. The plea suggested that the complaint was filed shortly after the new ruling party came to power.