The Delhi High Court on Friday granted bail to Preet Singh, an accused in the case of raising anti-Muslim slogans at Jantar Mantar in August this year, at a march organised against colonial-era laws by BJP leader and Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay.
A bail plea was moved by Preet Singh, president of Save India Foundation, before the Single-Judge Bench of Justice Mukta Gupta contending that he has not passed any offensive remarks against any particular religion which could incite violence.
The Court opined that Singh, who has been in custody since August 10, is no more required for custodial interrogation.The Bench, thereby, released Singh on bail, while directing him to furnish a personal bond in the sum of Rs 50,000 with two surety bonds of the like amount, subject to the condition that he shall not leave the country without the prior permission of the Court.
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing Singh, submitted that when the alleged slogans were raised, Singh had already left the spot. “Thus the slogan shouting which took place at 4.00 PM and is the genesis of the FIR in question was not done by the petitioner and the petitioner was not even present at the spot at that time and hence cannot be prosecuted for the act of the people who indulged in slogan shouting at 4.00 PM,” he stated.
He further submitted that the statements made by Singh to the press related to his demand for a Hindu Rashtra which cannot be said to be an offence under Section 153-A IPC.
Additional Public Prosecutor Tarang Srivastava opposed the bail application and contended Singh was a co-organizer of the event and responsible for the incitement which continued till the evening.
An FIR was registered at PS Connaught Place upon a complaint made by a Head Constable who was on duty near Jantar Mantar at the time of the alleged incident.
It was stated that on August 8, 2021, many people were gathered at the Jantar Mantar for a protest, who were made to understand that they cannot protest there without permission. The protesters were very aggressive for their demand, and a few among them were also making objectionable remarks about a particular religion.
Purported videos of the said event had shown people shouting slogans, threatening to harm Muslims. Pursuant thereto, an FIR was registered against several persons, including Ashwini Upadhyay, Preet Singh, under Sections 188/269/270/153-A of IPC, Section 3 of the Epidemic Disease Act and Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act.
The Delhi Police had sought 14-day judicial custody remand for Ashwini Upadhyay and Preet Singh, among others, to prevent the accused persons from committing any further offence, for proper investigation, to prevent the accused from tampering with the evidence or from threatening or influencing the witnesses in the present matter. It was also mentioned that the judicial custody remand is also required so that the accused may not create any unruly situation affecting the public tranquillity.
Upadhyay was subsequently granted bail by a Patiala House Court last month after 2 days in judicial custody.
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