Madhya Pradesh High Court grants bail to lecturer booked for WhatsApp status on Pahalgam attack

The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently granted bail to a college lecturer who was arrested on April 28 over an online post related to the Pahalgam terror attack [Dr Nasheem Bano vs The State of Madhya Pradesh]..Dr. Nasheem Bano was also booked for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus by sharing a video on a WhatsApp group. Justice Avanindra Kumar Singh said she cannot be kept in prison indefinitely for a forwarded post on WhatsApp. “Prima facie at the outset it can very safely said that an educated persons and persons, who are holding post of Guest Faculty in the College had greater responsibility to forward WhatsApp messages, but simply on the ground of forwarding messages, video which may hurt the religious sentiment of community, a person cannot be indefinitely kept in jail,” the Court said. .Bano, who was a Guest Faculty at Government Model College at Dindori, was booked under Sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in April.Days after the Pahalgam attack, she had posted a WhatsApp status that described the killing of Hindus after inquiring about their names and the coercion of Muslims to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' as acts of terrorism. She had also forwarded a video titled 'Naya Rawan' on a college WhatsApp group. She was denied bail by a trial court on April 30. Challenging the denial of bail, her counsel before the High Court argued that she is an educated woman and there was no intention to hurt any religious sentiment of any community..Opposing her bail plea, the State said that she had deliberately forwarded WhatsApp messages and video to hurt religious sentiments of the community. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the Court found it fit to grant bail to the accused.“It is directed that applicant-Dr. Nasheem Bano shall be released on bail on her furnishing a personal bond in a sum of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand Only) with one solvent surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the trial Court concerned for her appearance before the said Court on all such dates as may be fixed by that Court in this regard during the pendency of trial,” the Court ordered..Senior Advocate Manish Datt with advocate Eshaan Datt represented the petitioner.Government Advocate Ravindra Shukla appeared for the State.[Read Order]