Kareena Eugene
On Friday, 30th April 2021, the Madras High Court granted bail to two men who were accused of sedition and other offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and also those, who were arrested after they raised slogans against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Police.
The two accused were part of a group which allegedly used ‘abusive’ slogans while demonstrating in support of a Maoist leader who was said to have died in a Police encounter. The two men were accused of offences under Sections 188, 120(b), 121(A) and 124(A) of the Indian Penal Code, in addition to the provisions of UAPA.
Justice M. Dhandapani granted the men bail after noting that, ‘That the only allegation is that slogans were raised praising the deceased Maoist leader and against the Government; that others similarly placed as co-accused have been released on bail; that the incident took place in 2019; the period of incarceration already undergone by the bail applicants.’
On March 2021, the bail applicants/petitioners had been remanded to Judicial Custody after their arrest.
The prosecution was against the bail Plea and asserted that the bail applicants were the supporters of a banned organisation and that they had used slogans ‘abusing’ the Prime Minister and Police personnel.
The Counsel for the bail applicants/petitioners highlighted, while urging the Court to grant bail, there were no allegations of violence. The Court ultimately ended up granting bail on the matter, subject to execution of a bond for Rs. 10,000 with two sureties.