The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui in connection with a case filed by the Madhya Pradesh Police for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sanjay Karol also consolidated all complaints against the comedian and transferred them to Indore.
“In light of the facts and circumstances, as well as the previous order of this Court, we are inclined to transfer all of the complaints to Indore. We have already granted ad interim protection; the same is now made absolute,” the bench ruled.
Faruqui was also granted three weeks of protection from the production of warrants by Delhi Police.
The order was passed by the Supreme Court in response to a petition filed by the stand-up comedian contesting and seeking the dismissal of criminal proceedings against him in connection with allegedly hurting religious emotions.
Faruqui was detained by the Madhya Pradesh Police on January 1, 2021, on allegations of making disrespectful statements about Hindu Gods during a stand-up act in Indore.
Eklavya Singh Gaur, the chief of Hindutva movement Hind Rakshak Sangathan, filed a complaint in this regard.
Faruqui’s bail petition was initially denied by a Sessions Court, and then by the Madhya Pradesh High Court on January 28 of that year.
In his ruling denying bail, Justice Rohit Arya of the Madhya Pradesh High Court stated that “regarding the material seized and the statements of the witnesses, and that the investigation is ongoing, no case is made out for grant of bail.”
In February 2021, the Supreme Court granted him ad-interim bail and suspended the Uttar Pradesh Police’s production warrant against Faruqui in a different case. This protection was made absolute today.
