Observing that forwarding a video “which may hurt religious sentiments” doesn’t mean a person can indefinitely be kept in jail, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has granted bail to Dr Nasheem Bano, a guest faculty at the Government Model College in Dindori, who was arrested for allegedly circulating WhatsApp messages and a video on the .
“Prima facie, at the outset, it can very safely be said that an educated person, holding the post of Guest Faculty in the College, had a greater responsibility to forward WhatsApp messages. But simply on the ground of forwarding messages (and) video which may hurt the religious sentiment of a community, a person cannot be indefinitely kept in jail,” Justice Avanindra Kumar Singh noted in the June 13 order.
Dr Bano was arrested on April 28, following a complaint filed by one Deependra Jogi at Dindori police station. The FIR was filed under Sections 196, 299, and 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
It alleged that the professor had circulated certain posts in a WhatsApp group that were intended to outrage the religious feelings of a community, along with a video titled ‘Naya Ravan’.
Senior advocate Manish Datt, appearing with advocate Eshaan Datt for Dr Bano, argued that she is an educated woman with no intention to hurt the religious sentiments of any community.
Government advocate Ravindra Shukla opposed the bail, claiming that the applicant had deliberately forwarded WhatsApp messages and the video to hurt religious sentiments. However, he submitted that no other crimes were recorded against the professor.
Justice Singh, after hearing both sides and reviewing the case diary, deemed it appropriate to grant bail considering the facts and circumstances.
The April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam had claimed the lives of 26 civilians and led to an escalation of hostilities between India and Pakistan.
