A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices RF Nariman and BR Gavai has recently granted interim bail to comedian Munawar Faruqui. The Court also stayed a production warrant issued against Mr. Faruqui by the Uttar Pradesh Police in a separate case.
The comedian recently came under fire for allegedly making derogatory remarks against the Hindu Gods during one of his stand-up shows. The Madhya Pradesh high court on January 28 rejected Faruqui’s bail plea saying that it was the constitutional duty of every citizen “to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood”.
Mr.Faruqui then approached the Supreme Court to grant him bail. Mr. Saurabh Kirpal, the lawyer who represents Faruqui stated in front of the Court that the comedian was not arrested under the direction as prescribed in the Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar case. The case judged that the procedure under Section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) must be followed when an arrest is to be made. Since such a procedure was not followed the Court granted the bail.