SC grants bail to hate speech accused in Haridwar Dharma Sansad case

The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Jitendra Narayan Tyagi, an accused within the Haridwar Dharma Sansad case associated with alleged inflammatory speeches made against Muslims.

A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and B V Nagarathna directed Tyagi, formerly referred to as Wasim Rizvi, to furnish an undertaking before the court that he won't address electronic media or social media and shall not derive pleasure such alleged activities anymore, directly or indirectly.

"The petitioner could also be produced before the court within three days and shall be released on post-arrest bail subject to such terms and conditions to the satisfaction of the concerned judicature and furnishing undertaking in above terms before the tribunal.

"If the petitioner violates or commits a breach of any of the conditions on which bail has been granted to him, the respondents/prosecution is at liberty to maneuver an application seeking cancellation of bail," the bench said.

The top court on August 29 refused to increase the interim bail granted earlier on medical grounds and directed Tyagi to surrender.

The apex court on May 17 granted three months of interim bail to Tyagi on medical grounds and directed him to convey an undertaking that he wouldn't take pleasure in hate speech and not give any statement on electronic or digital or social media.

Tyagi had approached the highest court after the Uttarakhand judicature dismissed his bail plea in March this year.

The case against him et al. had been lodged on the complaint of Nadeem Ali, a resident of Jwalapur Haridwar at Haridwar Kotwali on January 2 this year.

He had alleged in his complaint that Dharma Sansad or religious Parliament was organised in Haridwar by Hindu sages from December 17 to 19 last year and within the garb of this event, the participants were instigated to wage a war against Muslims.

Objectionable words were allegedly used against the Holy Quran and Prophet Mohammad, Ali had said in his complaint, adding these provocative statements had later gone viral on social media.

These videos were circulated by Tyagi, Yati Narsinghanand, and others, he had alleged.

The FIR also alleged that an endeavor was made by Prabodhanand Giri to spread violence against the people living in Haridwar's mosques.

On Ali's complaint, Narsindhanand Giri, Sagar Sindhu Maharaj, Dharamdas Maharaj, Parmanand Maharaj, Sadhvi Annapurna, Swami Anand Swaroop, Ashwani Upadhyay, Suresh Chavan together with Swami Prabodhanand Giri, Jitendra Narayan were booked under various sections of the IPC for allegedly delivering hate speeches within the name of faith at the conclave.