New Delhi: The Allahabad high court has granted bail to a man accused of posting a message in support of Pakistan on social media and said that while such messages may provoke anger or disharmony, it does not attract provisions of sedition.

In the order dated September 26, the court granted bail to a Meerut resident Sajid Chaudhary, who had allegedly posted "Kamran Bhatti Proud of You, Pakistan Zindabad," was booked under Section 152 (endangering India's sovereignty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and had been in jail since May 13 reported Press Trust of India.

During the trial, Chaudhary’s counsel had argued that he had neither written or created the post but only forwarded it without any intention to incite hatred or disturb public order, Times of India reported. His counsel also said that he had no prior criminal record and did not pose any risk if released on bail. The government counsel had said that he was a “separatist” and had a history of similar activities. 

Justice Santosh Rai observed while allowing the bail plea that while such a message on social media may provoke anger or disharmony, it could be punishable under Section 196 (promoting enmity) of the BNS. But it did not attract the stringent provisions of Section 152 of the BNS.

In the order, the court also observed that Section 152 of the BNS was a newly introduced provision without an equivalent in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and cautioned that it should be invoked only with reasonable care. It also said the government’s counsel had not submitted any evidence proving that Chaudhary had made any statement against the integrity and sovereignty of India.

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