Nupur Sharma remarks on Prophet: Bombay High Court denies bail to vet accused of murder in UAPA case

A terrorist gang was formed to avenge an alleged dishonour of faith and to terrorise the public, the Bombay High Court held while rejecting the bail plea of veterinary doctor Yusuf Khan, implicated in the 2022 murder of Amravati chemist Umesh Kolhe. [Yusuf Khan v. State & National Investigation Agency]

The case stems from a social media post by Kolhe supporting former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s remarks on a TV debate. Multiple first information reports (FIRs) were registered against her in different parts of the country for her remarks on Prophet Muhammad.

A Division Bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Shyam C Chandak dismissed Khan’s appeal against the rejection of his bail application under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

“A terrorist gang was formed by the accused persons under the leadership of co-accused to avenge the alleged dishonour of their faith by the deceased, by brutally killing him and to strike terror into the hearts and minds of general public irrespective of whether they supported the spokesperson’s comment or not,” the Bench observed.

It said that the accused did not stop after failing to find Kolhe on one day and on the very next day, the accused committed his murder.

According to the prosecution, the chain of events began on May 26, 2022, when Sharma, then a BJP spokesperson, made a controversial comment during a TV debate. The remark went viral and triggered anger in the Muslim community at Amravati, leading to demands for registration of an FIR against Sharma.

Kolhe, who ran a veterinary medical shop, later shared a photo of Sharma along with a supporting message in a WhatsApp group of veterinary chemists.​ Khan, a veterinary doctor and the only Muslim member of that group, got offended by the post, the Court recorded.

He allegedly took a screenshot of Kolhe’s message, changed the second-last digit of Kolhe’s mobile number, added an instigating caption and circulated it widely.

The Bench said that the wording of the message, including the reference to"‘Amit Medical Prabhat Takiz Tehsil ke Samane" (Opposite Amit Medical) and the call to send it to "zyada se zyada groups" (more and more groups), showed that Kolhe was specifically selected to target and that the object was to provoke vengeance.​

The Court relied on call data records and witness statements to hold that there was a prima facie conspiracy.

It noted that 25 calls were exchanged between Khan and another accused before and after the murder. It also noted that meetings took place at Roshan Hall and Gausiya Hall where the decision to behead Kolhe was allegedly taken.

The Court noted that after stoking anger through his message, Khan carefully distanced himself from the other accused until the killing, in an apparent bid to avoid liability. However, the 25 calls between them showed that he was still involved, operating quietly from the background, it said.

“The Appellant was not present in a particular meeting with certain other accused is not material, as conspiracy can be inferred and proved by circumstantial evidence also. Conspiracies are secretary planned and direct evidence is therefore difficult to produce."

The judges held that there were reasonable grounds to believe the accusations against Khan were prima facie true.

Given the gravity of the alleged terrorist act and its impact on the ‘core and conscience of the society’, the Court refused to exercise its discretion to grant bail.

Advocates Yug Mohit Chaudhry, Sharif Shaikh, Afrin Khan, Muzammil Shaikh, Ejaz Shaikh, Anush Shetty, Muskan Shaikh, Benazir Khan and Mateen Shaikh appeared for Khan.

Additional Public Prosecutor Madhavi H Mhatre appeared for State.

Additional Solicitor General Anil C Singh with Advocates Chintan Shah, Aditya Thakkar, Sandeep Sadawarte, Prasanna Bhangale and Krishnakand Deshmukh appeared for NIA.

[Read order]