India, June 27 -- The Karnataka high court on Friday quashed two hate speech cases registered against former chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Basavaraj Bommai for his speech at a protest rally in November last year that accused the state's Waqf Board of grabbing farm land in the state.

Justice SR Krishna Kumar quashed the cases against the Haveri Lok Sabha MP, noting that his comments at the did not constitute the offence of promoting enmity between two groups for which he had been booked under Section 196(1)(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The judge said the allegations against Bommai were vague, and allowing the proceedings against him to continue in the case would amount to an abuse of the process of law.

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