Ajeet Bharti moves Delhi High Court for anticipatory bail in SC/ST Act case

YouTuber Ajeet Bharti has approached the Delhi High Court seeking anticipatory bail in the SC/ST Act case registered against him for his comments regarding Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan.

Bharti has challenged the trial court's order of September 7 that denied him relief.

The case is likely to be listed for hearing next week.

An FIR was registered against Bharti at Delhi's North Avenue Police Station on August 23 under the SC/ST Act, along with Section 67 of the IT Act and Sections 196(1)(c) and 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The complaint was filed by Balakram Bauddh, Delhi State President of the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), over a video titled "SB79: Reservation Hatao Andolan Nautanki & More | Saptahik Bakaiti" published on Bharti's social media handle.

As per the complaint, Bharti used caste-based and abusive language, made objectionable remarks involving Chandrashekhar Azad ('Ravan') and BR Ambedkar, used sexually degrading language about women and issued threats. 

However, Bharti has defended himself publicly, saying his remarks were provoked by a degrading comment about his mother/sister on his video.

In a detailed order rejecting Bharti's bail plea on September 7, the trial court said that the language used by him invoked caste hierarchy, caste-based notions of purity and the assumed superiority of "upper" over "lower" castes in matters of marriage and lineage.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler added that Bharti’s assertion that Chandrashekhar Azad should make himself worthy of marrying an upper-caste girl was a specific reference to caste and was humiliating. 

“The assertion that the said MP should make himself worthy of marrying an upper caste girl, is a specific reference to caste and humiliating as to why a person fit to be married to anyone in SC/ST community has to be something extra/something more/worthy of marrying a girl in upper caste,” the Court observed.