Mumbai court grants anticipatory bail to Abu Azmi in Aurangzeb remarks case

A Mumbai court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi in a case filed against him for remarks praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

While granting relief to Azmi — suspended from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly till March 26 — the court imposed a set of conditions and directed him to furnish a solvent surety bond of Rs 20,000.

A case was registered at south Mumbai's Marine Drive police station last week against the MLA from Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar constituency in the metropolis under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) over his remarks eulogising the medieval-era Mughal emperor.

Azmi, who is also the Samajwadi Party's Maharashtra unit president, had said that during Aurangzeb's reign, India's borders reached Afghanistan and Burma (Myanmar).

"Our GDP accounted for 24 per cent of the world’s GDP and India was called a golden sparrow," claimed the opposition legislator.

Asked about the fight between Aurangzeb and Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Azmi had termed it a political battle.