Comedian Munawar Faruqui's bail plea rejected

The Indore district court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of Munawar Faruqui, a stand-up comedian from Gujarat, who was arrested for allegedly insulting Hindu religious beliefs during a New Year show in Indore.

Indore: The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui in a case against him for allegedly passing indecent remarks against Hindu deities and observed that it was the constitutional duty of every citizen and the states to promote harmony among people irrespective of the diversities.

Justice Rohit Arya of the Indore bench of the high court also turned down the bail application of Nalin Yadav, another accused in the case.

The single-bench had on Monday reserved the order on their bail pleas.

In its order passed on Thursday, the court, while dismissing the bail pleas, said it refrains from commenting upon the contentions of the parties touching on merits, but based on the material seized, the statement of the witnesses and considering that the investigation is in progress, no case is made out for grant of bail.

While dismissing the bail plea, the judge ruled, "This court has carefully perused the case diary. The statements of witnesses recorded under section 161 CrPC, particularly the statements of the complainant Eklavya Singh Gaud and witness Kunal."

"Emphasis laid on some portions of the statements by the learned public prosecutor has already been reproduced in the form of his contention," it said.

"The evidence/material collected so far suggests that in an organized public show under the garb of standup comedy at a public place on commercial lines, prima facie, scurrilous, disparaging utterances, outraging religious feelings of a class of citizens of India with deliberate intendment, were made by the applicant," it said.

Police had arrested Faruquand four others on January 1 following a complaint by a BJP MLA's son that objectionable remarks were made by him and others about Hindu deities during a comedy show at a caf in Indore. One more person was arrested later.

Faruqui and Yadav are currently lodged in Indore Central Jail. A magistrate court and a sessions court had earlier rejected their bail pleas.

With inputs from agency