The High Court of Allahabad has granted anticipatory bail to a man, till submission of the police report, if any in the case, who was booked for allegedly instigating people to demolish the Gyanvapi Mosque.
The anticipatory bail orders were passed by the Single-Judge Bench of Justice Subhash Chandra Sharma on a petition filed by one Digvijay Chaube, who was booked under Sections 153A, 295A and 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The High Court ruled that in case Chaube was arrested in the above offence, the accused should be released on anticipatory bail under Section 173 (2) CrPC, on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with two sureties of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Station House Officer of the police station concerned.
Chaube had argued in his application that on account of political rivalry, the intent FIR. was lodged against Arun Pathak, President of Vishwa Hindu Sena.
The applicant said that he has not been named in the FIR. but during the investigation, his name was brought to light, though there was no evidence to show the complicity of this applicant.
The accused apprised the Court about his apprehension of imminent arrest and assured that in case he was released on bail, he would not misuse the liberty of bail and would cooperate with the investigation.
The Counsel appearing for the State of Uttar Pradesh opposed the anticipatory bail application.
The Bench said that after considering the facts and circumstances of the case, submissions made by the Counsel for the applicant as well as the A.G.A., the Court found the applicant to be entitled to anticipatory bail in the case for the limited period considering the exception considered by the Supreme Court in the case of Sushila Aggarwal Vs. State (NCT of Delhi), 2020.
The Applicant was represented by Advocate R. B. Singh, while the AGA appeared for the State.
(Case title – Digvijay Chaube vs State of UP)