A Varanasi court on Monday rejected the bail plea of 14 accused in a case linked to a viral video showing a group allegedly consuming non-vegetarian food on a boat in the Ganga. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Amit Kumar Yadav, while denying relief, observed that the offences attributed to the accused were “serious in nature” and non-bailable, making them ineligible for bail at this stage.
The accused, identified as Azad Ali, Aamir Kaiki, Danish Saifi, Mohd. Ahmad, Nehal Afridi, Mahfooz Alam, Mohd. Anas, Mohd. Awwal, Mohd. Tahseem, Mohd. Ahmad alias Raja, Mohd. Noor Ismail, Mohd. Tausif Ahmad, Mohd. Faizan and Mohd. Sameer, have been in judicial custody since March 19 and is currently lodged in Varanasi District Jail. The court noted that, considering the facts and circumstances of the case, there were no sufficient grounds to grant bail.
The controversy erupted after videos circulated on social media purportedly showing the accused breaking their fast on a boat and allegedly consuming chicken biryani, with claims that food remnants were thrown into the river. The incident triggered outrage, leading to a complaint by Rajat Jaiswal, city unit president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), following which an FIR was registered.
Initially, the accused were booked under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including charges related to defiling a place of worship, outraging religious sentiments, promoting enmity, public nuisance, and polluting a water body. Section 24 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, was also invoked.
As the investigation progressed, more serious charges were added. Notably, Section 308(5) of the BNS, about extortion under threat of death or grievous harm, was included after boat owners alleged that the accused had forcibly taken the vessel. Additionally, Section 67 of the Information Technology Act was invoked over the circulation of allegedly objectionable content online.
During the bail hearing, counsel for the accused argued that their clients were law-abiding citizens who had been falsely implicated due to personal enmity. They contended that no meat was recovered from the accused and that the viral video did not conclusively show consumption of non-vegetarian food.
However, opposing the plea, Assistant Prosecutor Deepak Kumar argued that the charges were grave and carried potential imprisonment of up to ten years. He stressed that the investigation was still underway, and the defence’s claims could not be verified at this stage. The prosecution also informed the court that a separate FIR had been filed alleging that individuals linked to the accused had issued death threats to the complainant.
After hearing both sides and reviewing the case records, the court concluded that the seriousness of the allegations and the ongoing investigation warranted denial of bail, at least at this preliminary stage.
