Kalicharan Maharaj granted bail by Pune Court in hate speech case against Muslims, Christians

A Pune court on Friday granted bail to Kalicharan Maharaj alias Abhijit Dhananjay Sarag over the alleged hate speech delivered by him in Pune in December 2021..Kalicharan, a self-proclaimed god-man, has been accused of making comments against the Muslim and Christian communities during a programme organised in Shukrawar Peth in Pune in relation to celebration of killing of Adilshahi general Afzal Khan by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.He was charged for offences under provisions of the Indian Penal Code - Sections 295A, 298 (words and acts to outrage religious feelings) and 505(2) (statements promoting enmity between classes).Maharaj had earlier been booked at Raipur, Chattisgarh for making objectionable statements against Mahatma Gandhi. He was brought to Pune from Raipur on January 5.After the religious guru was brought to Pune, he was remanded to one day police custody.On Thursday, Kalicharan was remanded to judicial custody after which he applied for bail and on Friday after hearing both sides, the Magistrate granted bail to Kalicharan..The application was vehemently opposed by the public prosecutor who contended that the offence against Kalicharan were non-bailable and serious in nature. He submitted that if released on bail, there were chances of him misusing his liberty by trying to create chaos leading to issues of law and order. Kalicharan not being a local resident may also lead to him absconding, the prosecution argued. .Advocate Amol Dange appearing for Kalicharan meanwhile argued that the maximum punishment for the offence was 3 years.He added that the police officer who had arrested him, had not issued any notice under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure which made the arrest illegal.He further stated that the FIR was registered after a delay of over 7 days which created a possibility of false implication..After hearing all contentions of the parties and perusing the remand papers and case diary, Chief Judicial Magistrate MA Shaikh held that there is no recovery that is to be made from Kalicharan and his physical custody is no longer required. "It will take time to complete the investigation. Till then, accused cannot be kept behind the bar, by putting some conditions, accused can be released on bail," the order stated. .With this observation, the Magistrate allowed the bail application and permitted Kalicharan to be released on bail bond of ₹25,000. He was also directed to co-operate with the investigation and attend the concerned police station once a month till filing of the chargesheet..Along with Kalicharan, the police had also booked Hindutva leader Milind Ekbote, who is also an accused in the Bhima Koregaon riot incident of 2018; Dipak Nagpure, Mohanrao Shete, Nandakishor Ekbote and Maha Vir Chakra awardee Captain Digendra Kumar, who is a Kargil war hero and retired from the Indian army in 2005.