Kerala Court grants bail to BJP's PC George in hate speech case

A Kerala Court on Friday granted bail to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader PC George in a hate speech case registered against him after he made derogatory statements against the Muslim community..On February 21, the Kerala High Court had declined to grant him anticipatory bail following which George surrendered before the police. His first attempt at securing bail from the Erattupetta Judicial First Class Magistrate Court failed and he was remanded to police custody for 14 days starting on February 24.However he moved another bail plea before the same magistrate court which was allowed today. .The case stems from a televised debate aired on Janam TV on January 5 in which George stated that all Muslims in India were terrorists and communalists and that there was not a single Muslim in India who was not a terrorist. He also seemingly urged Muslims to migrate to Pakistan and referred to them as "beggars."A complaint was filed by the Muslim Youth League Municipal Committee, following which the police registered a first information report (FIR) against him under Sections 196(1)(a) (promoting enmity on religious, racial, or linguistic grounds) and 299 (malicious acts to outrage religious feelings) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), along with Section 120(o) (Powers to deal with unlawful assemblies) of the Kerala Police Act.The incident sparked widespread criticism, leading George to issue a public apology on social media..George first moved an anticipatory bail plea before a Sessions Court in Kottayam. However, the trial court dismissed his plea observing that he had violated the conditions set by the High Court while granting bail to him in another hate speech case. In that case, the High Court had directed George to not make any such statements while out on bail, failing which his bail could be cancelled. His plea before the High Court for anticipatory bail in the present case was also later rejected, with Justice PV Kunhikrishnan criticising the trend of politicians resorting to such provocative statements in a secular nation. After his surrender to the police and after spending around four days in custody, George has now been granted regular bail by a trial court.