Comedian Munawar Faruqui gets interim bail by Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to comedian Munawar Faruqui, Bar and Bench reported. The comedian is accused of insulting Hindu deities during a show. He has been in jail since January 1 for his alleged comments, even though the police have said there was no electronic evidence and that the complaint was filed based on hearsay. A bench of Justices RF Nariman and BR Gavai also issued notices on the petitions filed by comedian for bail and quashing of the first information filed against him by the Madhya Pradesh Police for allegedly hurting religious sentiments, Live Law reported. The court said that the allegations mentioned against him in the FIR are vague, The Hindu reported. The bench noted that the procedure set down by the court in a previous judgment had not been followed in Faruqui’s case.

Additionally, the court stayed the production warrant issued by the Uttar Pradesh Police against Faruqui. The Uttar Pradesh Police had sought the comedian’s custody in connection with a case from April. The complainant had accused him of making derogatory comments about Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and of hurting religious sentiments. On January 28, the High Court had rejected his bail plea, concluding that there was prima facie evidence to suggest that Faruqui had intended to outrage religious feelings. The court added that there was a Constitutional duty on every citizen to “promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood” irrespective of their religious, linguistic, sectional and regional diversities. Earlier, his bail plea was rejected on January 5 and January 2 as well.