A day after the Karnataka High Court ruled that shouting 'Jai Sri Ram' inside a mosque does not draw the charge of inciting enmity between groups, the Madhya Pradesh High Court granted bail to Faizan, who was arrested in May for allegedly shouting 'Pakistan Zindabad, Hindustan Murdabad', making saluting the Indian flag while reciting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' one of the bail conditions.
Faizan had been in custody since his arrest in May on the prosecution’s charge that the anti-India slogan was aimed at creating enmity between groups and disrupting national harmony, The Indian Express reported.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Paliwal, who presided over the bail hearing, imposed a unique condition on Faizan as part of his bail. The court mandated that Faizan must report to the local police station on the first and fourth Tuesday of each month until the trial concludes.
During his visits, he is required to salute the national flag 21 times while chanting "Bharat Mata Ki Jai". This condition, as per the court, is to be included in the bail papers, with Faizan’s bond set at Rs 50,000.
The case saw delays due to the failure of the prosecution to produce a video that allegedly captured Faizan shouting the slogans. Despite multiple requests, the footage was not made available to the court for several months.
The prosecution attributed the delay to the backlog at the Forensic Cyber Lab, where thousands of cases are awaiting examination, with limited staff to process them. The court subsequently directed the state government to address the staffing issues at the lab to expedite the processing of such evidence.
Faizan’s legal defence argued that he had been falsely implicated in the case, but acknowledged the existence of a video in which Faizan is seen shouting the slogans. Meanwhile, the prosecution presented Faizan as a habitual offender, citing his involvement in 14 other criminal cases.
The government’s counsel emphasized that Faizan’s actions demonstrated his lack of loyalty to the country and suggested that he consider leaving India if he felt dissatisfied living in the country.