The Supreme Court has granted interim bail to comedian Munawar Faruqui in a case lodged at Madhya Pradesh's Indore for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. The court issued notice to the Madhya Pradesh government on Faruqui's plea challenging the state HC order denying him bail. He has been in jail for a month.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court had last week rejected the bail plea of Faruqui in a case against him for allegedly passing indecent remarks against Hindu deities, and observed that it was the constitutional duty of every citizen and the states to promote harmony among people irrespective of the diversities. Justice Rohit Arya of the Indore bench of the high court also turned down the bail application of Nalin Yadav, another accused in the case.
Police had arrested Faruqui and four others on January 1 following a complaint by a BJP MLA's son that objectionable remarks were made by him and others about Hindu deities during a comedy show at a cafe in Indore. One more person was arrested later.
According to the police, the comedy show was held at a cafe in 56 Dukan area of Indore on January 1. Eklavya Singh Gaud (36), son of local BJP MLA Malini Laxman Singh Gaud, had filed a complaint against Faruqui and others. Gaud said that he and his associates had gone to watch the show and when they heard the "indecent" comments, they forced the organisers to stop the programme.
The complaint said that indecent remarks were passed against Hindu gods and goddesses and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the show.
Faruqui and four others were later arrested by the police. All of them were booked under IPC sections 295-A (outraging religious feelings), 269 (unlawful or negligent act likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life) and other relevant provisions. One more person was arrested in this connection later.
Faruqui and Yadav are currently lodged in Indore Central Jail. A magistrate court and a sessions court had earlier rejected their bail pleas. In its order passed on Thursday, the court, while dismissing the bail pleas, said it refrains from commenting upon the contentions of the parties touching on merits, but based on the material seized, the statement of the witnesses and considering that the investigation is in progress, no case is made out for grant of bail.
"The observations, if any, made in the order on facts are only for the purpose of deciding these bail applications and shall have no bearing on pending trial," the order said. While dismissing the bail plea, the judge ruled, "This court has carefully perused the case diary. The statements of witnesses recorded under section 161 CrPC, particularly the statements of the complainant Eklavya Singh Gaud and witness Kunal."
"Emphasis laid on some portions of the statements by the learned public prosecutor have already been reproduced in the form of his contention," it said. "The evidence/material collected so far suggests that in an organized public show under the garb of standup comedy at a public place on commercial lines, prima facie, scurrilous, disparaging utterances, outraging religious feelings of a class of citizens of India with deliberate intendment, were made by the applicant," it said.
