‘WE ARE...

raised at a rally named ‘Bharat Jodo Andolan’ called at Jantar Mantar to protest “colonial-era laws”.

The video was placed as evidence before the court by the police who opposed Chaudhary’s pre-arrest bail plea.

“We are not a Taliban state. Rule of law is the sacrosanct governing principle in our plural and multicultural society. While the whole of India is celebrating Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav, there are some minds still chained with intolerant and self-centric beliefs,” additional sessions judge Anil Antil said in his August 21 order released on Monday.

Videos of the anti-muslim sloganeering were circulated widely on social media, which triggered outrage and resulted in the Delhi Police registering a case on August 9 and the arrest of six people, including lawyer and former BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay, who was granted bail on August 11.

Rejecting relief to Chaudhary, the court said “the complicity of accused in the alleged case crime is prima facie apparent from the material placed before it”.

It said the accusations are serious and the offence alleged is severe in nature, and history shows that such incidents have flared up communal tensions leading to riots “and causing loss to life and property of the general public”.

The court also reiterated that freedom of speech is a fundamental right, but it is not “absolute”.

“Nor can it be extended to transgress upon fundamental rights of other people; nor can it be expanded to the acts prejudicial to the maintenance of peace, harmony and public order; nor can it be permitted to invade and erode the secular fabric of our society. In the garb of the libertarian concept of free speech, the applicant/accused cannot be allowed to trample the Constitutional principles, which promote inclusiveness and common brotherhood,” the 10-page order noted. The judge noted that Chaudhary’s interview was loaded with “high octane communal barbs; laced with inflammatory, insulting and threatening gestures”; and was “indicative of the calculative design on the part of the applicant to promote hatred and ill will...”