‘Comedian’ Munawar Faruqui, who was earlier denied bail by the Madhya Pradesh High Court for his derogatory remarks against Hindu Gods and Goddesses, is in trouble yet again. In a new development, the Uttar Pradesh police have submitted a production warrant for him, in a case registered against him in April last year.
As per reports, the production warrant has been submitted on January 7 before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court in Indore and the Indore Central Jail, where Munawar Faruqui is serving his judicial custody. The said case was lodged at the George Town police station on April 19, 2020, in Praygraj district of Uttar Pradesh, following a complaint by one advocate named Ashutosh Mishra.
The police had booked the accused under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion), 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion) and Section 65 and 66 IT Act, 2008. The case is based on the YouTube video, uploaded by Faruqui, wherein he was seen making derogatory remarks against Hindu deities, mocking the deaths of Hindus in the Godhra train burning case and insinuating the role of the RSS and Home Minister in the carnage.
Judicial custody of Munawar Faruqui extended till January 27
Munawar Faruqui, who has been in judicial custody for the last two weeks, will continue to remain in jail as the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday adjourned his bail hearing until next week. Indian Express journalist Iram Siddique took to Twitter to inform that the bail hearing at High Court in Indore was adjourned as police failed to produce his case diary.
‘Comedian’ Munawar Faruqui had moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court seeking bail after the magistrate’s court as well as the sessions court had rejected his bail plea on January 5 (Tuesday) and 2 (Saturday) respectively. His bail pleas were not only rejected but, Chief judicial magistrate Aman Singh Bhuria also extended Faruqui’s judicial custody till January 27.
Faruqui’s advocate, Anshuman Shrivastav alleged that it appears to be a tactic by police to harass his client. Advocate Anushman Shrivastav further argued before the court that the police should be ordered to get the diary and matter be heard in the second half. However, the court scheduled the hearing for next week.
