Supreme Court grants bail to Jitendra Tyagi in Haridwar hate speech case

The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Jitendra Tyagi (formerly known as Waseem Rizvi) arrested in connection with the investigation into the hate speeches at the Hardiwar Dharam Sansad held in December 2021 [Jitender Narayan Tyagi alias Vasim Rizvi vs State of Uttarakhand]..A Bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and BV Nagarathna granted bail subject to the condition that Tyagi would not address any electronic media. .The Supreme Court had earlier granted interim medical bail to Tyagi on May 17 while emphasising that Tyagi should not deliver any hate speeches which could disturb harmony in the society.The top court had in August refused to extend the interim medical bail.Tyagi, the former chairperson of the Shia Waqf Board who recently converted to Hinduism, was arrested by the Uttarakhand Police in January 2022 for his inflammatory speech at Haridwar in December last year.He approached the Supreme Court after the Uttarakhand High Court rejected his bail plea in March this year. Tyagi has been party to a spate of litigation in the recent past.A Srinagar court had recently taken cognisance of a complaint against him for insulting Islam and the Prophet. The Supreme Court in January had issued notice to the Central and Uttarakhand governments on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a probe into the Haridwar Dharam Sansad.The Supreme Court in April last year had dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by Rizvi that sought deletion of certain verses from the Holy Quran alleging that they violate the law of the land and promote extremism. The Court while rejecting the plea had imposed costs of ₹50,000 on Tyagi.The Delhi High Court in December last year had dismissed a suit seeking a ban on Waseem Rizvi’s self-published book titled “Muhammad”. The Allahabad High Court had sought his response in plea seeking that he be refrained from making statements on social media about Islam.