Prayagraj: Six more accused granted bail in Ganga Iftar party case
Prayagraj/ Varanasi, May 18: The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to six more accused – Danish Saifi, Noor Islam, Aamir Kaifi, Mahfooz Alam, Mohammad Ahmed, and Mohammad Awal – for organizing an Iftar party in the holy Ganga River in Varanasi, eating non-vegetarian food, and throwing bones and food waste into the river.
Justice Rajiv Lochan Shukla issued this order with the same conditions as eight accused granted bail in the same crime. Earlier, on May 15, while granting bail to some of the accused, the court had said that the accused had apologized for their actions in their applications. The petitioners had stated that they and their families sincerely regret and feel pain for the allegations leveled against them at the social level.
The Court stated that the statements made in paragraph 14 of the accused’s affidavits indicate that they express remorse for their actions and that their families also regret the suffering caused to society.
The Court also recognizes that when facing prosecution in a criminal case, an explicit admission of guilt by an affidavit on behalf of an incarcerated individual cannot be made, and that such admission of guilt is not necessary when granting bail.
Granting bail to the accused, the Court stated that the Additional Advocate General’s apprehension that the Iftar party, the uploading of the video, and its use to incite religious hatred were part of a larger conspiracy would not, in the Court’s opinion, impede the investigation and allow the accused to continue without further detention in jail. The accused, who have been in jail since March 17th, have expressed remorse and pledged not to commit such acts in the future.
The court stated that considering the facts and circumstances of the case, including the accused’s lack of criminal background, the period of detention they had already served, and the apology they had sought, a prima facie case for bail was made out.
According to the facts of the case, BJP Yuva Morcha President Rajat Jaiswal filed an FIR regarding the incident at the Kotwali police station in Varanasi on March 16th. On March 15th, local BJP Yuva Morcha worker Rajat Jaiswal accused people celebrating Iftar on a boat in the Ganges of eating meat and throwing garbage into the river below. According to him, the accused’s actions hurt the sentiments of a particular community. The accused were subsequently arrested, and the police charged them with several sections of the Indian Penal Code related to desecration of a place of worship, hurting religious sentiments, and subsequent extortion.
