Will cooperate with probe: UK doctor booked for FB post about PM Modi assures Bombay High Court

UK-based YouTuber and doctor Dr Sangram Patil, accused of posting objectionable content against BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, told the Bombay High Court on Monday that he would file an affidavit assuring his continued cooperation with the Maharashtra Police even if he is allowed to return to the United Kingdom [Sangram Patil v. State of Maharashtra & Os.]

Single-judge Justice Ashwin D Bhobe allowed Patil to file his affidavit within three days and directed the State to consider it expeditiously. The matter is listed for further hearing on April 15.

Patil has challenged the Look Out Circular (LOC) and a first information report (FIR) registered under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for allegedly promoting enmity between groups.

He maintained that the case is politically motivated and part of an effort by Mumbai Police to criminalise political speech and dissent.  

Senior Advocate Rajiv Shakdher, representing Patil, apprised the court that he has already cooperated with the investigation and has not been summoned since January 21.

“The FIR registered on December 18 does not attract Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. No custodial interrogation is required,” Shakdher told the court.

He stressed that the LOC has “kept his life in a coma” by preventing him from returning to the UK and resuming his duties with the National Health Service. 

Patil, a native of Jalgaon in Maharashtra, conveyed his willingness to file an affidavit to demonstrate good faith.

“I have my parents here, they have a house here,” he said.  

He highlighted that during interrogations, when the police asked Patil for his phone, he was not in a position to hand over the same as it contained confidential details of his patients in England, which is protected information.  

Shakdher also reiterated that one of the disputed posts was not authored by him but appeared on another Facebook page titled ‘Shehar Aghadi’ and had already been deleted.  

Advocate General Milind Sathe opposed the plea, arguing that the police suspect a link between Patil and the ‘Shehar Aghadi’ account and that both posts must be read together given their timing and content.  

“If anybody reads the two posts together, anybody can see the connect. Once we get the link, the conspiracy will be clear. The post is likely to create hatred between two groups: followers and non-followers. The offence need not happen, only likelihood is important,” Sathe told the court.  

He maintained that none of the parameters of Bhajan Lal are attracted here and therefore, there can be no quashing of the FIR at this stage.  

Earlier, Mumbai Police had alleged in their affidavit that Patil’s social media activity and visit to India on a tourist visa formed part of a larger organised effort. Patil, in turn, called the police’s stance a post-facto justification for an illegal LOC and an abuse of the criminal process.