Gauhati High Court grants bail to man who posted on Facebook that Taliban are not terrorists

The Gauhati High Court recently granted bail to an man who was arrested for allegedly posting on Facebook that the Taliban in Afghanistan are not terrorists (Maulana Fazlul Karim Qasimi v. State of Assam)..The accused was booked under Section 120-B [Punishment of Criminal Conspiracy], Section 153-A(1)/153-B(1), Section 298 [Uttering, words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings], Sections 505(1) [Statements conducing public mischief] and 505(2) [Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes] of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 read with Section 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967..The Single-Judge Bench of Justice Suman Shivam noted that there was nothing incriminating with regard to Facebook post from the accused's personal account..While allowing the bail application of the accused, the Court was of the opinion that:"There is nothing incriminating against the applicant save and except the fact that there is a Facebook post emanating from his personal account. It is doubtful as to whether the contents thereof alone would constitute a cognizable offence. In view of the above, I am of the view that further custodial detention of the applicant would be uncalled for in this case.".Senior Advocate D Das, assisted by Advocate K Mohammed, appeared for the applicant. Additional Public Prosecutor RR Kaushik appeared for the State..Recently, the Gauhati High Court had allowed the bail application of one Maqbool Alam, who was booked for his Facebook posts where he was found to be praising and glorifying Tehreek-e-Taliban, a terrorist organization, who had engaged in a war to throw out a democratically elected government in Afghanistan and have also targeted Indian citizens through violent means. The Court had granted bail to the applicant noting that there is nothing in those Facebook posts requiring further custodial detention..[Read Order]