The court observed that posting the act on social media platforms indicated the intention to deliberately disrupt communal peace
VARANASI — Fourteen Muslims, accused of eating chicken and discarding the bones during iftar on a boat along the ghats of the River Ganges in Varanasi, were denied bail on Wednesday, with the court observing that posting the act on social media platforms indicated their intention to disrupt communal peace.
Judge Alok Kumar of the Sessions Court said in his order that “posting the said video on social media prima facie proves that the said incident was committed with the objective of affecting social harmony.”
The bail plea of the accused was also rejected by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate on March 23.
On March 15, videos emerged showing the accused purportedly breaking their Ramadan fast with chicken and allegedly throwing leftovers into the river. The posts went massively viral, prompting legal action, according to a report in Siasat.com.
Police registered a case against Azad Ali, Aamir Kaiki, Danish Saifi, Mohammed Ahmad, Nehal Afridi, Mahfooz Alam, Mohammed Anas, Mohammed Awwal, Mohammed Tahseem, Mohammed Ahmad alias Raja, Mohammed Noor Ismail, Mohammed Tausif Ahmad, Mohd Faizan and Mohammed Sameer.
The FIR was registered under Sections 298 (defiling a place of worship), 299 (malicious act with intent to outrage religious feelings), 196(1)(B) (promoting enmity), 270 (public nuisance), 279 (fouling water of a public spring or water reservoir), and 223(B) (disobedience of an order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with section 24 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
Police later added Section 308(5) (extortion under threat of death or grievous hurt), after the boat owners, Anil Sahani and Ranjan Sahani, alleged that the accused men took their boat forcibly.
The arrests were made based on a complaint by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM)’s city president Rajat Jaiswal.
Jaiswal alleged the act deeply “insulted the sentiments of Sanatana followers” and described it as “jihadi mentality.”
The counsel representing the accused told the court that Jaiswal was not present during the incident and hence cannot be considered an eyewitness. He also said the police failed to recover the alleged chicken bones from the site.
However, the Sessions Court struck down the bail applications, saying that sharing the content online heightened the seriousness of the offence, particularly given its proximity to Eid and other festivals.
