Munawar Faruqui in jail: Lawyer says classic case of non-application of judicial mind

Photo used for representational purpose

Comedian Munawar Faruqui, who has been in jail for three weeks for allegedly hurting religious sentiments during a show, did not utter a word that would have been offensive to any religion or any person, said lawyer Anas Tanwir, founder of Indian Civil Liberties Union (ICLU).

Faruqui was arrested by Madhya Pradesh police on January 1 in a case of alleged objectionable depiction of Hindu deities and hurting religious sentiments of people during a performance at a cafe in Indore. He is lodged in Indore jail since then.

Eklavya Singh Gaud (36), son of local BJP MLA Malini Laxman Singh Gaud and convenor of Hindu Rakshak Sanghatan, had filed a police complaint claiming he had been to Faruqui's show and that it contained "indecent" comments on Hindu gods and goddesses as well as Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

"Munawar's case is a classic case of non-application of judicial mind, especially in granting bail or granting remand. There is no evidence of any allegations against Munawar. He did not get a chance to perform at the said so. He did not utter a word that would have been offensive to any religion or any person and the court should have seen that," said Anas Tanwir.

Faruqui, who hails from Gujarat, has been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 295A (outraging religious feelings), 269 (unlawful or negligent act likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life) among others.

Since his arrest, Faruqui's bail plea has been rejected by the chief judicial magistrate and the sessions court, stating that ‘his release would disrupt law and order'. Following this, he approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

During the last hearing in the HC on January 16, the Indore police had failed to produce the case diary and said that it had no evidence whatsoever to back the allegations made against the comedian.

"When there is an admission by the police on record that he did perform or he did not say anything in the skit that he performed in Indore, then there is no reason why he should be in jail. And more unfortunate is the case of his friend, who went there just to meet him and he has been put in jail. This is against the very core of law and order. This is against the very core of rule of law," added Anas Tanwir.

Ever since the incident, many people have pointed out the arbitrary nature of the arrests made in the case.

Here are some of the tweets by prominent personalities:

On Thursday, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram expressed displeasure about courts not following the principle of granting bails before imprisonment, and pointed to Faruqui's case.

"Why are the courts denying bail to journalist Siddique Kappan and comedian Munawar Faruqui? Equality means equal access to justice and equal application of legal principles," Chidambaram said in a series of tweets.

"Despite the judgement of the Constitution Bench (Justice Ravindra Bhat) and another Bench (Justice Chandrachud), why is the principle ‘Bail is the Rule and Jail is the Exception' not being applied in every case?" he added.

Apart from Faruqui, four others have been arrested in the same case.