Allahabad HC grants bail to remaining 6 held over iftar party on Ganga
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The Allahabad High Court on Monday granted bail to the remaining six of the 14 Muslim men arrested for allegedly eating chicken biryani during an iftar gathering on a boat in the river Ganga, according to PTI.
The arrests were made after a video of the March 16 iftar party circulated widely on social media.
Justice Rajiv Lochan Shukla observed that eight of the accused had already been granted bail in the same case and held that the remaining six applicants were also entitled to similar relief on the same terms.
Earlier, on May 15, Justice Shukla had granted bail to five of the accused, noting that they were apologetic for their actions and that their families regretted the hurt allegedly caused to society. On the same day, Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha granted bail to three others involved in the case.
The accused had approached the High Court after a sessions court in Varanasi rejected their bail pleas on April 1. They were also denied relief earlier on March 23 by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Amit Kumar Yadav, who had termed the alleged offences “serious in nature and non-bailable”.
While granting bail on Monday, Justice Shukla stated that the investigation would not be hindered if the remaining six accused were released.
All 14 men were booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to defiling a place of worship with intent to insult a religion, deliberate acts intended to outrage religious feelings, and promoting enmity between groups.
The accused also face charges linked to public nuisance, fouling water in a public reservoir, disobeying orders issued by a public servant, and violations under the Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act.
Police later added charges of extortion under threat of death or grievous hurt after boat owners alleged that the accused had forcibly taken the boat. Provisions under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which deals with publishing or transmitting obscene material electronically, were also invoked in the case.
