Haridwar Dharma Sansad case: SC grants three months interim bail to hate speech accused

PTI, May 17, 2022, 8:17 PM IST

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The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted three months of interim bail to Jitendra Narayan Tyagi on medical grounds in connection with the Haridwar Dharma Sansad case involving alleged inflammatory speeches made against Muslims.

A bench comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath directed Tyagi, formerly known as Wasim Rizvi, to give an undertaking that he would not indulge in hate speech and not give any statement on electronic or digital, or social media.

“After hearing the learned counsel for the parties and taking into consideration the medical condition of the petitioner, we consider it appropriate to grant him interim bail on furnishing an undertaking that he will not address the electronic media or social media and will not indulge in such activities anymore.

“On furnishing undertaking and the terms and conditions to the satisfaction of the Trial Court, the petitioner shall be released on interim bail for the period of three months,” the bench said.

In case of violation of any condition on which interim bail has been granted, the respondents are at liberty to file an application for cancellation of the interim bail, the apex court added.

The apex court will now hear the matter on August 29. Tyagi had approached the top court after the Uttarakhand High Court dismissed his bail plea in March this year.

The case against him and others had been lodged on the complaint of Nadeem Ali, a resident of Jwalapur Haridwar at Haridwar Kotwali on January 2, 2022.

He had alleged in his complaint that Dharma Sansad or religious Parliament was organised in Haridwar by Hindu sages from December 17 to 19 last year and in the garb of this event, the participants were instigated to wage a war against Muslims.

Objectionable words were used against the holy Quran and Prophet Mohammad, Ali had said in his complaint, adding these provocative statements had later gone viral on social media.

These videos were circulated by Wasim Rizvi alias Jitendra Narayan Tyagi, Yati Narsinghanand, and others, he had alleged.

The FIR also alleged that an attempt was made by Prabodhanand Giri to spread violence against the people living in Haridwar’s mosques.

On Nadeem Ali’s complaint, Narsindhanand Giri, Sagar Sindhu Maharaj, Dharamdas Maharaj, Parmanand Maharaj, Sadhvi Annapurna, Swami Anand Swaroop, Aswani Upadhyay, Suresh Chavan along with Swami Prabodhanand Giri, Jitendra Narayan were booked under Sections 153A, 295 and other relevant sections of the IPC for allegedly delivering hate speeches in the name of religion at the conclave.