Khushi Gupta
Published on: May 22, 2022 at 13:40 IST
A Delhi Court on Saturday granted Bail to Ratan Lal, a Professor of History at Delhi University, arrested over a social media post in relation to the recent controversy regarding ‘Gyanvapi Mosque’, after observing that the feeling of hurt felt by an individual cannot represent entire group or community.
Ratan Lal was arrested under Section 153A and 295A of Indian Penal Code for posting alleged defamatory and inciting material on Facebook to disturb the religious harmony relating to the Gyanvyapi Mosque.
Noting that Ratan Lal had made a post wherein he had made a remark on a structure including a claim regarding discovery of a ‘Shivling’ and that the matter was still pending before the concerned courts, the Court said that the photographs used in the post were themselves not verified.
“India is a country of more than 130 crores people and any subject can have 130 crores different views and perceptions.”
“The feeling of hurt felt by an individual cannot represent the entire group or community and any such complaint regarding hurt feelings has to be seen in its context considering the entire spectrum of facts / circumstances.”
“Therefore, it is clear that the post of the accused is speculative in nature with regard to a structure / symbol which as of now is not accessible in public domain”, the Court added.
“The present accused is a person of good repute with no criminal antecedent and there is no likelihood of the accused fleeing the course of law,” said the Court while granting Bail to Ratan Lal.