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Synopsis

The Allahabad High Court recently granted bail to a man who allegedly posted a video on the social media platform Facebook showing former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma being beheaded.

The bench of Justice Deepak Verma passed the order in the bail application moved by Bulandshahr resident Nadeem Ansari who had been booked under Sections 153A, 295A, 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2008 and is in jail since June 13, 2022.

The allegations against Ansari are that he tried to incite communal tension in the area by posting the said video. However, Ansari sought relief from the high court stating that he is innocent and had been falsely implicated in the present case.

Ansari's counsel submitted before the court that there was only one case of criminal history against Ansari for which an explanation was placed before the court and in case, he is enlarged on bail, he will not misuse the liberty of bail and cooperate in the trial.

Therefore, considering the entire facts and circumstances of the case and keeping in view the nature of offence, evidence, complicity of accused, and larger mandate on Article 21 of the Constitution of India laid in Satendra Kumar Antil Vs. C.B.I. & Another, court allowed Ansari's bail plea without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case.

It is noteworthy that last month, the Rajasthan High Court denied bail to Ajmer dargah Cleric Syed Gohar Husain Chisti, who had allegedly provoked people to raise the 'sar tan se juda' slogan at the Ajmer Dargah premises against Nupur Sharma.

Dismissing Chisti's bail plea, Justice Sameer Jain observed that with his alleged “provocative, vindictive and motivated slogans, Chisti put the law and order in jeopardy and caused communal discomfort throughout the country, including unfortunate incidents at Amravati and Udaipur”.

Against Chisti, allegations are that his provocative speech at the Dargah in effect led to the brutal murders of a tailor in Udaipur and a medical shop owner in Amravati over their social media posts in Sharma's support.

Case Title: Nadeem Ansari v. State of U.P