KOTTAYAM — Seven-time former Legislator and a top Kerala BJP leader P.C. George, who on February 24 was sent to judicial remand for two weeks in a hate speech case, was granted bail from a lower court on Friday.
The case that he was booked on was for allegedly making hate speech against a particular community during a TV channel debate.
George, on Monday, soon after his bail plea was rejected, was sent to judicial custody, but after he complained of health issues, an ECG was taken, and it showed variations.
Soon, he was shifted to the cardiology department at the state-run Medical College hospital here, and on Friday, his fresh bail plea was granted by the court.
Incidentally, on February 21, the Kerala High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea, and it was certain that he would be arrested.
On Monday (February 24), when the police came looking for him, around 11 a.m., he appeared before the local court at Erattupettah.
First, the court sent him to police custody till 6 p.m., but later, he was sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
George (73) has a long political career and joined different political outfits at different times before forming his own political party, which he later merged with the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
He is now a senior leader of the BJP in Kerala. In this case, on February 17, the High Court pointed out that George has been repeatedly flouting the orders of the Magistrate Court as well as of the High Court and rejected his plea on February 21.
The High Court had previously granted him bail on the condition that he would refrain from making provocative statements.
The allegation against George was that he made remarks against the Muslim community, saying, “They are terrorists and communalists”.
He further stated that there is no “Muslim living in India who is not a terrorist”. It is also alleged that he made comments to promote hatred against the Muslim community and advised that they must migrate to Pakistan. –IANS
