The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court dismissed a man’s plea challenging a FIR against him for allegedly making hurtful remarks about Goddess Durga in a Whatsapp group. The court held, “prima facie the messages sent on Whatsapp were objectionable”.
A division bench of justices V.M. Deshpande and A.B. Borkar was hearing a criminal application filed by Jafar Ali Sher Ali Sayyad, 58.
Last year, a WhatsApp group was created by members of a residential colony for organising a Durga puja. It is alleged that on October 9, 2019, Mr. Sayyad posted abusive and dis-respectful message about the deity following which an FIR was filed against him for creating disturbance in the locality and with the intention to hurt public sentiments.
The court was informed that after registration of the FIR, initially the applicant was absconding and did not co-operate with the investigation till getting protection in the form of anticipatory bail. It was also found that the applicant deleted the offending message from his cellphone to destroy evidence.
The court held, “On careful scrutiny of the FIR, we are of the prima facie opinion that the message posted by the applicant, as stated in the FIR, is objectionable. Whether there was malicious intention on the part of the applicant is a matter to be considered by the investigating agency during the investigation.”
The bench refused him any relief and dismissed the petition.
