The Supreme Court granted bail on Monday to comedian Munawar Faruqui, who was arrested in connection in a case registered against him by the Madhya Pradesh Police for allegedly insulting religious sentiments.
The Bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Sanjay Karol, while clubbing all complaints against Faruqui, noted that taking into consideration the facts and circumstances, apart from its previous order, the Apex Court was inclined to transfer all complaints to Indore.
The top court of the country said it had already granted ad interim protection to the accused, which it made absolute today.
The Bench further granted protection to the comedian against the production of warrants by Delhi Police for three weeks.
The comedian moved the Apex Court, after the Sessions court and the Madhya Pradesh High Court denied him bail on the grounds that with regards to the material seized, the statements of the witnesses and that the investigation in progress, no case was made out for grant of bail.
On February 5, the Supreme Court granted bail to Faruqui, saying that the procedure of the notice before his arrest was not followed. The Single-Judge Bench of Justice RF Nariman had pointed out that the FIR against the comedian was ‘vague’.
The Bench had also issued notice to the Madhya Pradesh government on the grounds that it did not follow the 2014 verdict of the Apex Court delivered in the Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar case. Besides, the State failed to comply with the procedure laid down under Section 41 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The Madhya Pradesh police had lodged an FIR against Faruqui under Section 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings of any class) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), apart from other Sections.
He was charged with making indecent remarks against Hindu Gods and Goddesses, apart from Home Minister Amit Shah, during an event at a cafe in Indore on January 1, 2021.
Munawar was arrested on January 2, along with four other people, on a complaint filed by one Aklavya Singh Gaud, convenor of local Hindu outfit Hind Rakshak and son of BJP Legislator Malini Gaur.
(Case title: Munawar vs State of Madhya Pradesh)
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