MP court denies bail to comedian Faruqui
HC says there is prima facie evidence against accused
Bhopal: Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui, in jail for allegedly “insulting Hindu Gods and Goddesses” during a show, will not be released on bail, the Madhya Pradesh high court ruled, saying there was no evidence so far that he had not committed the crime. The court rejected the comedian's argument that he had made no offensive comment.
Madhya Pradesh high court on Thursday rejected bail plea of standup comedian Munawar Faruqui and organiser of his show Nalin Yadav, saying that “No case is made out for grant of bail”.
Justice Rohit Arya of Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh high court said there was prima facie evidence to suggest that the two bail applicants had intended to outrage religious feelings “under the garb of standup comedy”.
“The evidence/material collected so far suggest that in an organised public show under the garb of standup comedy at a public place, on communal lines, prima facie; scurrilous, disparaging utterances, outraging religious feelings of a class of citizens of India with deliberate intendment; were made by the applicant,” the court said.
“It is not a case of no evidence”, the order said.
The court added that the investigation was still in progress and the possibility that more incriminating material may be collected regarding involvement of
THE COURT rejected Faruqui’s contention that he had not made any statement alleged in the criminal complaint, saying that the witnesses in the case coupled with the video footage of the show were in contravention of his submission.
others cannot be ruled out.
“Further, it has come on record that similar nature of offence has been registered against the applicant at police station George Town, Prayagraj, state of Uttar Pradesh,” the court said referring to UP police’s recent move to seek custody of Faruqui for his statement made in
May 2020. The court rejected Faruqui’s contention that he had not made any statement alleged in the criminal complaint, saying that the witnesses in the case coupled with the video footage of the show were in contravention of his submission.
The court observed that there was a constitutional duty on every citizen and state to promote harmony and the spirit of brotherhood irrespective of religious, linguistic, sectional and regional diversities.
The state must endeavour to ensure that “this ecosystem and sustenance of coexistence in our welfare society is not polluted by negative forces”.
Faruqui was arrested on January 1 following the complaint by Eklavya Singh Gaur, chief of Hindu Rakshak Sanghathan, that the former had made derogatory remarks against Hindu deities in a recent standup show.