PM Modi fake video case: Delhi court grants bail to Congress leader AK Bereddy

Judge Akanksha Garg rejected the State's plea seeking three days of police custody for interrogation.
PM Modi
PM Modi
Published on
2 min read

A Delhi court on June 19 granted bail to Arun Kumar Bereddy of Congress party in a case involving a fake video of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi.

Judge Akanksha Garg rejected the State's plea for three days of police custody for interrogation.

The Court noted that the arrest was illegal as no proper notice was issued as mandated under Section 41A of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

"Hence, I hereby dismiss the application seeking PC remand of the accused. Arrest of the accused is found to be illegal as no proper notice u/s 41A CrPC has been served. Hence, accused is admitted to bail on furnishing personal bonds of ₹50,000 with one surety of like amount after verification of address of accused as well as Surety," the Court observed.

Bereddy was arrested on the night of June 18 by the Delhi police. Thereafter, an application seeking a three-day police custody remand of the accused was moved by the Investigating Officer (IO).

It was alleged by the prosecution that Bereddy posted fake, morphed and misleading information and photos with the intention to malign the reputation of PM Modi.

Further, it was argued that Bereddy's actions impacted the morale of women deployed in the Armed/Central Forces and affected friendly relations with other countries.

It was contended that Bereddy concealed vital information despite sustained interrogation about the source of the posts.

However, Bereddy's counsel argued that his arrest was a result of political vendetta, as he is the National Coordinator of Social Media for the Congress Party.

Moreover, the posts in question were old and dating back to 2022-2023 and thus, there was no urgency necessitating his custodial interrogation, the counsel added.

Also Read
Amit Shah fake video case: Telangana High Court orders no coercive action against Congress workers

The Court noted that the accused was arrested when he came to the police station with respect to investigation in another case.

It was further observed that the notice under Section 41A CrPC was served merely as a formality in this case and there was no compliance with said provision in letter and spirit.

"The accused must have been given the sufficient time to join the investigation, however, he was arrested by the IO at 10:30 PM. This is not a case where the accused has failed to join the investigation. Moreover, the offences in question u/s 294/469/499/500/504 IPC & Sec 67 IT Act are bailable in nature. The only non-bailable offence invoked by the IO is Sec. 505 (1) (b) IPC, however, in view of the fact that the mobile phone of the accused has already been seized and the password has been provided, no further custodial interrogation is warranted," the Court observed while granting conditional bail to Bereddy.

Additional Public Prosecutor Bhaskar appeared for State.

Advocates Kamran Khan and Omar Huda appeared for Bereddy.

[Read Order]

Attachment
PDF
State Vs. Arun Kumar Bereddy.pdf
Preview
Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news
www.barandbench.com