Team Clarion
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM — Days after the Kerala High Court rejected the anticipatory bail plea of BJP leader PC George in an anti Muslim hate speech case, George surrendered before a court in Erattupetta on Monday.
“We have received information that George has appeared before the court,” a police officer told reporters.
George, a former MLA, has been caught in an Anti Muslim hate speech case after he participated in a TV channel discussion on January 5 this year. Speaking on the show, PC George equated all Muslims in India with terrorists and demanded that they go to Pakistan.
The BJP leader’s surrender follows the police’s request to take him into custody days after the Kerala High Court denied his bail plea.
The Indian Express reported that on Saturday, the BJP leader had sought extra time until February 24 to appear before the police for investigation.
However, on Friday, Justice PV Kunhikrishnan rejected his bail plea, stating that granting bail in such cases would send “a wrong message to society.”
The High Court observed – “If granted bail in this case, people may think that, even if the bail conditions are violated, they will get anticipatory bail from the court of law. Such a message should not go to society.”
There was a large police force waiting at George’s house to arrest him when he turned up at the magistrate’s court in Erattupetta. He was booked under Sections 196(1)(a) and 299 of the BNS, as well as Section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act.
In a similar case in 2022, the court had directed the seven-time former legislator not to make any speech that could amount to promoting religious hate or outraging religious sentiments.
After his remarks in January 2025, Muhammed Shihab, a resident of Erattupetta, filed a police complaint under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 196(1)(a) and 299 – about actions that promote enmity between groups and that outrage religious feelings, respectively – and also under Section 120(o) of Kerala Police Act against the leader. — With inputs from agencies
