Prayagraj:
The Allahabad High Court has rejected the bail plea of Ansar Ahmed Siddique, who allegedly shared a Facebook post with the “Pakistan zindabad” slogan.
The court said the judiciary’s showing tolerance towards matters with anti-national overtones is leading to a rise in the number of such cases.
Denying bail to Siddique (62), Justice Siddhartha said, “The commission of such offences is becoming a routine affair in this country because the courts are liberal and tolerant towards such acts of people with an anti-national bent of mind. It is not a fit case for enlarging the applicant on bail at this stage.”
“Clearly, the act of the applicant is disrespectful to the Constitution and its ideals and also, his act amounts to challenging the sovereignty of India and adversely affecting the unity and integrity of India by sharing an anti-social and anti-Indian post.
“The applicant is a senior citizen and his age shows that he was born in independent India. His irresponsible and anti-national conduct does not entitle him to seek protection of his right to liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” the judge said.
However, while denying bail to the applicant, the court directed that the trial against him be concluded as expeditiously as possible.
According to the FIR, the applicant shared a post on Facebook, wherein an appeal was made for propagating “jihad”, saying “Pakistan zindabad” and appealing to Muslims to support their “Pakistani brothers”.
It is alleged that the post has hurt national sentiments and militated against the sovereignty and integrity of India.
The application was filed on behalf of the applicant, with a request to release him on bail in the case lodged under sections 197 (acts that undermine national integration) and 152 (acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Chhatari police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahar district.
During the course of the hearing, the applicant’s counsel submitted that his client had only shared a video on Facebook on May 3. “He is an old man, aged about 62 years and undergoing medical treatment,” the lawyer said.
The Uttar Pradesh government’s counsel opposed the bail plea, saying the applicant’s conduct was against the interest of the country and he did not deserve to be enlarged on bail.
He further submitted that the video was posted after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed, and therefore, it clearly proved that the applicant supported the terror act.
After hearing the contentions, the court, in its order dated June 26, rejected the bail plea, mentioning that according to Article 51A(a), it is the duty of every Indian citizen to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the national flag and the national anthem and Article 51A(c) talks about upholding and protecting the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
