Sanjay Raut’s Albania post sparks row as advocate seeks FIR over remarks on Supreme Court

Offices at the Supreme Court in Tirana Albania were ablaze as antigovernment protests mainly over corruption the protesters claimed rocked the country Albania officially the Republic of Albania is a country in Southeastern Europe on the Balkan Peninsula Its capital is Tirana Albania may be little known to Indians but is now on the radar after Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb ThackerayUBT spokesperson and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut referred to the country in his X post on social mediaShiv Sena UBTrsquos Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay RautRaut claimed in his recent post which has resulted in a political firestorm pun intended that lsquoThe people of Albania have burned down the Supreme Court The people were enraged because the Supreme Court was helping corrupt prime ministers The protesting public has also attacked the parliament and government offices as well as ministersrsquo homes All countries should learn a lesson from these events Especially India in the X post India is not mentioned but Raut has placed an Indian flag emoji as the last word of his post following especiallyThe complaintSupreme Court advocate Vineet Jindal filed a formal complaint on October 21 with CPDelhi and the Joint CP DCP_IFSO seeking immediate registration of an FIR against Sanjay Raut rautsanjay61 under Sections 3531b 152 196 and 197 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS 2023 and applicable provisions of the IT Act 2000Jindalrsquos complaint concerned Rautrsquos social media post referring to the burning of the Supreme Court of Albania and stating that countries particularly India should learn a lesson from those events The complaint seeks ldquoinvestigation into the alleged promotion of violence against constitutional institutions The rule of law and the dignity of our judicial institutions must be protectedrdquo the advocate said about the complaintBe alertWhen asked about the controversy Raut said ldquoWhat controversy There is no controversy A controversy is being lsquocreatedrsquo by some to suit themselves All I was saying through my X post was for people of India to become alert Alert to the times we live in and alert to the global situation around us Is that not correct Shouldnrsquot people wise up and become aware of what is happening outside India toordquo When told that there was a complaint filed against him Raut retorted ldquoLet there be Today it has become some sort of trendfashion to file complaints Somebody flies a tiranga and a complaint is lodged This has nothing to do with anarchy or violence My post has everything to do with being alertrdquoPast conductAdvocate Jindal slammed back ldquoToday it has become a trendfashionable to come forward and make statements against the country and constitutional authorities This is from Raut who has already been issued a notice by the Supreme Court four days earlier asking him to explain his conduct Even after that notice he has posted this on his lsquoXrsquo account and that surely points to his criminal intent As a legal professional and an alert citizen I have a duty to point to his current statement conduct and past conduct which will show he is a habitual offender If he really wanted the public to become lsquoalert lsquo he could have used some other polite words instead of this socalled alarming post highlighting the burning of a Supreme Court of another countryrdquo The backstoryIn October 2023 Jindal filed a cyber police complaint against sports presenter Zainab Abbas from Pakistan who was in India for the ICC Cricket World Cup In the complaint Jindal had cited old social media posts that were alleged to be antiIndia and antiHindu Abbas subsequently left IndiaAt that time Jindal had said to this paper that Abbasrsquos remarks were derogatory to the ldquointegrity and sovereignty of the countryrdquo He had explained ldquoI am a law abiding citizen I did not retort on social media I went and filed a complaint following due processrdquo