The Patna High Court has refused to grant anticipatory bail, protecting one Mallick Wasif Md. Hasnain @Basu from arrest. The man is accused of sharing a video containing defamatory and derogatory remarks against the Hindu deity Goddess Durga on his Facebook account. After taking the facts and circumstances of the case into consideration, the bench of Justice Sudhir Singh denied the pre-arrest bail to Wasif Hasnain, reports the legal news portal Law Beat.
Patna High Court Denies Pre-Arrest Bail To Man Accused Of Posting Facebook Video Having Derogatory Remarks On Goddess Durga@ISalilTiwari reportshttps://t.co/jHVcP9VgSV
— LawBeat (@LawBeatInd) June 16, 2022
According to the report, Hasnain had moved the Patna High Court seeking anticipatory bail in a case filed against him under IPC 153(A), 295(A), 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66 of IT Act, pending in the court of Sub Judge 1, Jehanabad.
The lawyer appearing for Hasnain argued in the court that the latter his been falsely implicated in the case. He said that Hasnain was unaware of the defamatory video against the Hindu deity uploaded on his Facebook account. The lawyer contended that Hasnain’s Facebook account was hacked and that he had no knowledge of the same.
He further claimed that Hasnain had no criminal history and that no charges of witness tampering had been levelled against him.
Meanwhile, objecting to the pre-arrest bail, the counsel representing the State government in the case, argued before the bench of the Patna High Court that there were specific allegations that the videos posted by Hasnain were defamatory and had disparaging remarks against Goddess Durga. He added that Hasnain’s act was nothing more than an attempt to disrupt society’s social peace.
After considering the submission, the Court decided that Hasnain’s case was not suitable for anticipatory bail. Nevertheless, it stated that if Hasnain surrenders to the court and requests normal bail, the case will be assessed on its own merits, unaffected by this judgement.
