Madhya Pradesh High Court refuses anticipatory bail to man accused of comparing RSS with Taliban

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday dismissed an anticipatory bail application filed by an accused who allegedly made certain comments drawing similarities between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Taliban (Atul Pastor v. The State of Madhya Pradesh)..As per the case put forth by the prosecution, the applicant and his co-accused made statements that went viral on social media and as a result, created nuisance and instigated religious sentiments of the public. In light of this, the anticipatory bail application was vehemently opposed..However, counsel for the applicant submitted that he was being falsely implicated due to political rivalries and denied making such comments.“There is no direct or indirect evidence against the applicant, he has been made an accused only on the basis of suspicions,” stated the counsel.It was urged that anticipatory bail be granted since the investigation was complete, but no chargesheet had been filed, and due to the pandemic, the trial may be prolonged..After hearing both parties, Justice Rajendra Kumar Verma found sufficient evidence against the applicant and therefore, refused the application.“Keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case and on perusal of the material available on record including case diary and the role attributed in the commission of offences by the applicant, there is sufficient evidence available against the applicant, in the opinion of this Court, this Court is not inclined to grant the benefit of anticipatory bail to the applicant," the order stated..Last month, an RSS worker had filed a criminal defamation complaint against lyricist Javed Akhtar for his alleged defamatory comment comparing RSS to the Taliban. A civil suit arising from the comment was also filed against Akhtar, in which a Thane court issued show cause notice against him..[Read Order]