Supreme Court grants interim bail to comedian Munawar Faruqui

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 5

The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to comedian Munawar Faruqui who was arrested by the Madhya Pradesh Police for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus during a show on new year.

“The petitioner (Faruqui) is released on ad-interim bail on conditions to the satisfaction of the trial court,” a Bench headed by Justices RF Nariman ordered.

While issuing notice to the Madhya Pradesh Government on Faruqui’s plea, it also stayed a warrant for production of the comedian in Uttar Pradesh in another case.

The Bench granted interim bail to the comedian after it was pointed out that procedure under CrPC and the law laid down by the Supreme Court with regard to arrest wasn’t followed.

On behalf of the comedian, senior advocate Vikram Chaudhri and advocate Saurabh Kirpal termed it a case of victimisation. The allegations made in the FIR were vague and  the procedure under CrPC and the law laid down by the Supreme Court with regard to arrest weren’t followed.

Faruqui – who hails from Gujarat—was arrested on January 1 by the Madhya Pradesh Police for his alleged derogatory remarks against Hindu gods during a show in Indore.

He has challenged the January 28 order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court that dismissed the bail pleas of Faruqui and fellow comedian Nalin Yadav.

“The evidence/material collected so far, suggest that in an organized public show under the garb of stand-up comedy at a public place on commercial 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 high court had said while rejecting his bail plea.

Maintaining that every right was coupled with duty, the HC said, “Liberty of an individual has to be balanced with his duties and obligations towards his fellow citizens,” the high court had said, adding the State must endeavour to ensure that the “ecosystem and sustenance of coexistence in our welfare society is not polluted by negative forces.

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