Observing that throwing non-vegetarian food waste into the Ganges could hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community, the Allahabad High Court granted bail to eight Muslim men accused of organizing an iftar party on a boat on the Ganges in Varanasi, eating non-vegetarian food and allegedly throwing the remaining waste into the river.
In separate orders issued on May 15, Justice Rajeev Lochan Shukla granted bail to five accused, while Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha allowed the appeals of three others. Six other defendants have not yet received bail.
In his 16-page order, Justice Shukla observed that though the alleged act could “hurt Hindu religious sentiments”, the accused “apologize for their actions and even their families also regret the pain caused to the community at large”.
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“Taking into account the facts and circumstances of the entire case, the lack of criminal antecedents of the applicants, the period of detention they have already undergone, as well as the apology expressed, as recorded above, a prima facie case has been made for bail,” the court noted.
Justice Shukla granted bail to Muhammad Azad Ali, Muhammad Tehseen, Nihal Afridi, Muhammad Tauseef Ahmed and Muhammad Anas. On the same day, Justice Sinha granted bail to Muhammad Sameer, Muhammad Ahmed Raza and Muhammad Faizan.
All the 14 accused were arrested on March 17 by Varanasi police based on a complaint filed by BJP Yuva Morcha district president Rajat Jaiswal.
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They have been booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 196 (1) (b) (encouragement of enmity), 270 (public nuisance), 279 (pollution of water of public spring or reservoir), 298 (injury or desecration of place of worship), 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to excite religious sentiments), 308 (extortion), 223 (b), besides Art. 24 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
The accused approached the Supreme Court after the sessions court in Varanasi rejected their bail pleas on April 1.
Opposing the bail pleas, Additional Solicitor General Anoop Trivedi said that the accused had defiled the Ganges and uploaded the video in an attempt to disturb communal harmony.
