BREAKING: Delhi High Court allows Transit Anticipatory Bail to BJP’s Prashant Umrao in FIR by Tamil Nadu Police till March 20

Bhartiya Janata Party's Uttar Pradesh Spokesperson and lawyer Prashant Kumar Umrao has been allowed transit anticipatory bail by the Delhi High Court in a First Information Report (FIR) lodged against him by the Tamil Nadu police for allegedly posting a “fake video” about the “attack on Bihar migrants” in the state.

During the hearing on Tuesday, Advocate Kushal Kumar appearing for Umrao sought transit anticipatory bail for 12 weeks. He contended that the applicant is a young lawyer with 6 years of practice.

On the contrary, the senior counsel appearing for the State of Tamil Nadu opposed the plea and argued that there are direct flights to Trivandrum. He also stated that even one-stop flights are available to Thoothukudi Central, Tamil Nadu. Furthermore, he argued that after deleting the tweet, Umrao had not apologized or retracted the tweet.

Noting that as the applicant apprehends arrest in FIR registered at Thoothukudi Central, Tamil Nadu, a bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh opined that reasonable time should be granted to Umaro to approach the concerned Investigating Officer.

The single-judge bench allowed transit anticipatory bail to Umrao till March 20 and disposed of the petition.

The BJP Spokesperson of Uttar Pradesh had filed the application under Section 438 of CrPC seeking transit anticipatory bail in an FIR registered at Thoothukudi Central, Police Station, Tamil Nadu. The FIR is registered under Sections 153, 153A, 504, and 505 of the Indian Penal Code.

Umrao is a resident of Delhi and is a practicing lawyer before the Delhi Court. He is also member of the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) and is also serving as Standing Counsel for the State of Goa before the Supreme Court.

The Lawyer had filed the plea through Advocates Kushal Kumar, Harsh Ahuja, Vishal Rai, Addtya Kapoor, and Akash Deep Gupta.

Dainik Bhaskar, a national daily, recently published a news article in which it stated that Bihari migrant laborers in the state of Tamil Nadu are being killed for speaking Hindi and that 12 laborers were hanged to death, with an estimated 15 laborers dying in the incidents. Furthermore, an audio clip surfaced in which a Dainik Bhaskar reporter was on the phone with a Bihari migrant laborer who informed the reporter that Bihari migrant workers are being killed in the state of Tamil Nadu, with around 12 people being hanged to death.

Umrao’s case is that he on February 23 in good faith to address the plight of migrant workers, placed reliance on “Danik Bhaskar” aforementioned article and video clip tweeted:

“15 people of Bihar were hanged in a room in TamilNadu for speaking Hindi and 12 have sadly died. After that, Tejaswi Yadav shamelessly celebrated a birthday party with Stalin in Tamil Nadu.”

Following that, certain fact-checking organizations began publishing fact-checks on the aforementioned news articles and video clips, and it soon became clear that the video clips shared on social media actually belong to a different time period and have nothing to do with the violence against migrant workers in Tamil Nadu. It was also discovered that the reports of Bihari migrant workers being hanged for speaking Hindi were “Fake”.

“On 03.03.2023, taking note of the above, the Applicant being a responsible citizen deleted the aforementioned tweet from his social media platform and on 04.03.2023, the subject FIR was registered against the Applicant(Prashant Umrao) in response to the aforesaid tweet published”, the plea stated.

The plea stated “On 04.03.2023, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu also published a Press Release…wherein the Chief Minister expressed his concerns on the false news being published about the migrant workers in Tamil Nadu. The said Press Release clearly notes that the series of fake news started with a journalist from Bihar who spread the news of a private conflict between two individuals that took place in some other state as if it had happened in Tamil Nadu”.

“The Applicant is innocent and has not committed any intentional acts punishable under Sections 153, 153(A), 504, and 505 of the IPC. He himself became a victim of fake news and only published the aforementioned tweet to raise concerns regarding the news which was being covered by prominent news agencies and personalities”, the plea added.

It further stated that Umrao is a victim of political rivalry as he is associated with a different political party. Furthermore, it stated that Umrao’s right to liberty would stand violated at the hand of the State of Tamil Nadu if he is arrested without a reasonable opportunity to avail his legal remedies owing to his residence in Delhi.

Case Title: Prashant Kumar Umrao v. State of Tamil Nadu & Anr.

Statue: The Indian Penal Code; The Code of Criminal Procedure