Allahabad High Court: In a bail application filed by an accused in a FIR filed against him under Sections 152, 352, 197(1)(c), and 353(1)(C) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, for making allegedly derogatory posts about Prime Minister Narendra Modi (‘PM Modi’) and supporting Pakistan, the Single Judge Bench of Sanjay Kumar Singh, J., rejected the application, holding that that the said content appeared to be aimed at ridiculing the Indian leadership and promoting a narrative contrary to the interest of national sovereignty, unity and integrity.
Background
The complainant, a sub-inspector, lodged an FIR against the present accused after discovering a social media post on a Facebook account in the accused’s name. The said social media post was allegedly making objectionable videos about PM Modi, which went viral. On further analysis of the Facebook profile, the complainant discovered that the user was posting content in support of Pakistan and against PM Modi. Accordingly, the accused was arrested.
Analysis
Upon perusal of the screenshots of the accused’s Facebook account, the Court noted that there were posts with objectionable visual captions. One of them, depicted PM Modi touching the feet of Imran Khan, former Pakistan Prime Minister, another depicted him being tied with a rope and dragged by Imran Khan with captions like “Modi Maafi Maangta Hai” and Urdu texts allegedly glorifying Pakistan.
The Court held that the said content appeared to be aimed at ridiculing the Indian leadership and promoting a narrative contrary to the interest of national sovereignty, unity, and integrity. The Court further opined that the material shared by the accused through his Facebook account was provocative, objectionable, and capable of inciting communal disharmony and disturbing public peace and order. The themes and language used in the posts indicated an inclination towards the glorification of anti-national ideology, which could not be ignored.
In this regard, the Court referred to Niyaz Ahmad Khan v. State of U.P., 2022 SCC OnLine All 105, wherein it was stated that use of cyberspace by some people to vent out their anger and frustration by travestying the Prime Minister or other key figures or any other individual is abhorrent and violates the right to reputation of others. These kinds of acts, posting and sharing unhealthy materials with unparliamentary language and remarks on social media without any solid basis, cause a deleterious effect on society at large; ergo, to protect the reputation and character of individuals, it should be completely stopped. It was also stated that it would be fair enough to state that such persons who are deliberately involved in such acts directly or behind the curtain with oblique motive or to settle their score, adopting different modus operandi, are hazardous to civilized society, and they are not entitled to any sympathy in the justice delivery system.
Considering the facts and circumstances, arguments, nature of the contents allegedly shared by the accused, gravity of the offences and their potential impact on societal harmony, role assigned to the accused, and severity of punishment, the Court found that there was no good ground to release the accused on bail.
Accordingly, the bail application was rejected.
[Tahir Mewati v. State of U.P., Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 25687 of 2025, decided on 28-07-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the applicant: Rajesh Chandra Jaiswal, Sachchida Nand Ojha, and Vikas Srivastava
For the respondent: Additional Government Advocate