Mumbai, June 30 (UNI) Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi today filed a petition at the Bombay High Court, seeking direction to quash the FIR (first information report) registered against him for his alleged remarks supporting Mughal emperor Aurangzeb made during the Maharashtra Assembly’s Budget session on March three, which had created a major controversy.

In his petition Azmi had denied the charges levelled against him.

Police had earlier registered an offence against him, and he was granted an anticipatory bail in the matter.

Against the FIR, Azmi moved the high court. Upon hearing his plea, a division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Rajesh Patil issued a notice and directed the state and other respondents to file a reply within four weeks' time.

It may be recalled that during the assembly session while participating in a debate on the state Budget, Azmi had praised Aurangzeb and said that “India was called the ‘golden bird’ and its GDP during Aurangzeb’s era was 24 percent”.

He referred to historian Ram Puniyani’s observations while speaking to media persons. “The wrong history has been painted. Aurangzeb constructed many temples. I don’t believe he was a cruel ruler. Ram Puniyani said that Aurangzeb’s battle was about power and wealth, religion had nothing to do with it. Thirty-four percent people who worked with him were Hindu. He destroyed both masjids (mosque) and temples.”

The remarks that led to these legal troubles were made by Azmi when he was speaking to the media.

Azmi also said that Aurangzeb ruled honestly and did not misuse public money, stating that the emperor did not take even a single rupee from the administration.

He mentioned that India’s territory under Aurangzeb stretched all the way to Burma and Afghanistan.

Continuing his statement, Azmi added that Aurangzeb’s army also had Hindu commanders, and the battles fought under his reign were not between Hindus and Muslims. He claimed the historical events were “misinterpreted” over the years.

These comments, however, led to a political storm and drew heavy criticism, especially from Hindu groups and political leaders, who accused Azmi of hurting Hindu religious sentiments. In response, Azmi was suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly.

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