New Delhi: Delhi Police have denied permission to comedian Munawar Faruqui’s show which was scheduled to take place in the national capital on August 28 citing law and order reasons.

Earlier, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) had written a letter to the Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora to cancel his show.

There were possibilities that the VHP would protest against the show which could led to law and order situations.

The district police then prepared a report and sent it to the licensing unit mentioning that if the show happens, it can lead to communal tensions.

Joint CP Licensing Dr Om Prakash Mishra told IANS: “We can’t grant permission to any show which disturbs our communal harmony, which distrub law and order. Our local police sent a report after which we have cancelled their request.”

Courtesy: The Daily Siasat

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“Nafrat jeet hai, Artist haar gaya. (sic) Im done! Goodbye! INJUSTICE”, stand up artist Munawar Faruqi shared an emotional note after his upcoming charity show in Bangalore  was cancelled because the authorities feared ‘law and order’  problems. Munawar Faruqui cancelled the show, a charity special titled, ‘Dongri to Nowhere’, and was a charity event for the late actor Puneeth Rajkumar’s foundation. It was to be staged at the Good Shepherd auditorium in Bengaluru,  on November 28 Sunday. The artist in his statement said it was the twelfth show that was cancelled due to threats in two months. “I’m done. Goodbye”, he  signed off, 

Nafrat jeet hai, Artist haar gaya.
Im done! Goodbye! INJUSTICE pic.twitter.com/la4xmaeQ0C

— munawar faruqui (@munawar0018) November 28, 2021

According to an India Today, report after Bengaluru Police wrote to the organisers on Saturday stating there was “credible information that several organisations are opposing this stand-up comedy show and it could create chaos and disturb the public peace and harmony, which may lead to law and order problems”. 

“It is learned that #MunawarFaruqui is a controversial figure as he was been (sic) in controversial statements and on other religion Gods. Many states have banned his comedy shows…”
Instead of assuring security @BlrCityPolice “suggest” organisers cancel today’s comedy act pic.twitter.com/fGQqVEbEwW

— Article 14 (@Article14live) November 28, 2021

Interestingly the police added “It is learned that Munawar Faruqui is a controversial figure as he has made controversial statements on other religions’ gods” and listed the cases against him. It does not mention any specific threat but cites apprehensions of law and order problems, which in its hurry to perhaps has been typed to “low and order”   The show was, then cancelled as suggested by the Police, on Sunday morning and the world came to know of this when Faruqui responded on social media. He posted a statement, sharing details that the more than 600 tickets had been sold for the Sunday event, which was a charity show. Munawar wrote, “Month back, my team called Late Puneeth Rajkumar sir organisation for charity which we will be going to generate from this show in Bangalore! We agreed to not sell the show in the name of charity as suggested by the noble organisation (sic).”

He added, “Putting me in jail for a joke I never did to cancelling my show which has nothing problematic in it. This is unfair.” Faruqui shared that this show even had a ‘censor certificate’ clearance. He signed off with a heartbreaking line, “I think this is the end. My name is Munawar Faruqui and that’s been my time. You guys were a wonderful audience. Goodbye. I’m done.” 

While the right wing seems to have friends in high places, Faruqui’s constant targeting has been called out too. 

Absolutely disgusting!
Just because some right wing fringe elements without any evidence create havoc at several venues,innocent & talented artists along with venue owners have to bear the losses, @munawar0018 I stand with you & every artist facing such nuisance.#MunawarFaruqui pic.twitter.com/1ed4psVWJj

— Rais Shaikh (@rais_shk) November 28, 2021

Like Perumal Murugan, now Munawwar Faruqi – Hindu & caste supremacists try to make it impossible for artists to practice their art without threat and intimidation. (In Muslim majority countries, the same is done by those professing Islam). https://t.co/p3LhldShBn

— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) November 28, 2021

12 shows cancelled expose right wing agenda against Munawar Faruqui 

Comedian Munawar Faruqui’s livelihood has taken a beating as Bajrang Dal members travelled all the way from Gujarat to Mumbai to threaten venue owners against hosting Faruqui’s scheduled stand-up comedy shows. Faruqui tweeted on October 27 that the Mumbai shows scheduled for October 29, 30 and 31 have been cancelled as “the safety of the audience is what matters most to me. I don’t want my audience to go through what I am experiencing”

Faruqui was arrested earlier this year on charges of hurting religious sentiments at a show in Indore based on a complaint filed by Eklavya Singh Gaur, chief of Hindutva organisation Hind Rakshak Sangathan. The audience’s retelling of the incident indicated that the joke was never told in the first place and Faruqui was incarcerated without cause.

On January 5, his bail plea was rejected by the Sessions Court. In an appeal to the High Court, Justice Rohit Arya of the Madhya Pradesh High Court refused to grant him bail observing that, “Such people must not be spared”. After over a month of being incarcerated, Faruqui was granted ad-interim bail by the Supreme Court on February 5 while observing that neither the precedent laid down in the 2014 Supreme Court judgment (Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar) was followed, nor the procedure under section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was complied with.

A dangerous step up the Pyramid Of Hate. 

Attacking the livelihood is a form of ‘othering’, and a direct attack on a person’s means of survival. This is in fact a dangerous step up as contextualised by the Pyramid Of Hate. Such economic boycots, even if they are cancellations ‘suggested’ by state authorities without any concrete reason given, is the third stage is discrimination, where certain the person or community targetted are subjected to exclusion in employment, among other things. The fourth stage in the hate pyramid is that of violence, of targeted hate crime which includes threat, assault, battery, murder, and terrorism. The fifth and last stage is genocide, a deliberate systematic cleansing of a community.

Related

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Why are right wing bhakts so easily triggered by satire?

Hate Watch: Bajrang Dal threats force Munawar Faruqui to cancel shows in Mumbai

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Comedian Munawar Faruqui’s livelihood has taken a beating as Bajrang Dal members travelled all the way from Gujarat to Mumbai to threaten venue owners against hosting Faruqui’s scheduled stand-up comedy shows.

Faruqui was arrested earlier this year on charges of hurting religious sentiments at a show in Indore based on a complaint filed by Eklavya Singh Gaur, chief of Hindutva organisation Hind Rakshak Sangathan. The audience’s retelling of the incident indicated that the joke was never told in the first place and Faruqui was incarcerated without cause.

On January 5, his bail plea was rejected by the Sessions Court. In an appeal to the High Court, Justice Rohit Arya of the Madhya Pradesh High Court refused to grant him bail observing that, “Such people must not be spared”. After over a month of being incarcerated, Faruqui was granted ad-interim bail by the Supreme Court on February 5 while observing that neither the precedent laid down in the 2014 Supreme Court judgment (Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar) was followed, nor the procedure under section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was complied with.

The shows were to take place on October 29 at the hall in Borivali (West) and on October 30 and 31 at Rangsharda auditorium in Bandra (West).

Faruqui tweeted on October 27 that the Mumbai shows scheduled for October 29, 30 and 31 have been cancelled as “the safety of the audience is what matters most to me. I don’t want my audience to go through what I am experiencing”

?? pic.twitter.com/Do0c2jPTYg

— munawar faruqui (@munawar0018) October 27, 2021

Faruqui was needlessly targeted then, and is being needlessly targeted now.

Purnima Shah, owner of Rangsharda auditorium, told Indian Express, “We were threatened on Tuesday afternoon by three members of Bajrang Dal. They said ‘this show is against Hindus’. I told them producers book the hall and we do not ask who the artist is. I told them that the organiser has censor certificate, but still the Bajrang Dal members were threatening us. They told us they will burn the place, so we decided to cancel the show. At that time I called the police, who escorted them out of my premises.” She added, “Before this incident, two people from Bajrang Dal had also threatened my staff over the phone. Police had come then too and we provided them with phone numbers of the callers. I have given in writing that we are cancelling the show because of the threats.” 

Another organiser said that they were under pressure from even the police as they said that the organiser will be booked if any law and order issue arises due to the show. He said he was perturbed that an artist is being targeted because of his religion and some joke he cracked two years ago.

The notice issued by Bandra police station, accessed by IE, stated that the police had information that the act may contain content that may hurt religious sentiments of Hindus or other religions. In such a case, if a law and order problem takes place due to such content that hurts religious sentiments, then action will be taken against the organisers and the notice will be used as evidence against them in court.

Related:

Breaking: SC grants ad interim bail to comedian Munawar Faruqui

Erratic arrests by police and the Arnesh Kumar Judgement

Coming soon! The Right to Laugh: a virtual comedy show

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The Madhya Pradesh High Court granted interim bail to Nalin Yadav and Sadakat Khan, who were arrested with comedian Munawar Faruqui by Indore Police in connection with an FIR against them for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

The Single-judge Bench of Justice Rohit Arya referred to the Supreme Court order that granted bail to Munawar Faruqui on February 5. The High Court order read, “The applicant is held entitled for temporary bail maintaining parity in the light of the order dated 05/02/2021 passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Writ Petition (s) (criminal) No(s). 62/2021 and SLP (cri.) No. 1045 of 2021 (supra) and this court in M.Cr.C Nos. 4562/21 and 3345/2021.”

According to Bar & Bench, the District and Sessions court at Indore had rejected the bail application moved by Sadakat Khan, who has been in custody since January 1, 2021.

The case

Comedian Munawar Faruqui, along with Sadakat, Nalin, Edwin Anthony, Prakhar Vyas and Priyam Vyas were arrested by Indore Police in the middle of a stand-up show on the basis of an FIR filed by Eklavya Singh Gaur, son of a local BJP legislator Malini Laxman Singh Gaur for allegedly making indecent remarks against Hindu deities and against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

All six were booked under sections 295A (deliberate act to outrage religious feelings of a group), 298 (deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person), 269 (unlawful and negligent act to spread an infectious disease), 188 (disobey order of a public servant) and 34 (act done in furtherance of a common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. 

Faruqui’s bail was rejected twice by district courts and once by the High Court. Finally, after over one month of incarceration, the Supreme court granted him bail and also stayed the Uttar Pradesh production warrant issued against him in an old case. The top court had observed that the arrest guidelines were also not followed in this case. The order read:

“The learned counsel has pointed out to us that quite apart from the fact that the allegations made in the FIR are vague that the procedure contained in Section 41 Cr.PC. as adumbrated by our Judgment in “Arnesh Kumar Vs. State of Bihar & Anr.”, reported in (2014) 8 SCC 273, has not been followed before arresting the petitioner. This being the case, we issue notice in both the petitions, and stay the Judgment of the High Court. The petitioner is released on ad-interim bail on conditions to the satisfaction of the trial court.”

Subsequently, in the light of this order, co-accused Prakhar Vyas and Edwin Anthony were granted bail by the Madhya Pradesh High Court on February 12 and Priyam Vyas has also been released by a juvenile court.

The order may be read here: 

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Stand-up comic Faruqui Munawar’s custody extended by two weeks
Sessions court denies bail to stand-up comic held for ‘insulting’ Hindu deities
BREAKING: Madhya Pradesh HC rejects comedian Munawar Faruqui’s bail plea
Breaking: SC grants ad interim bail to comedian Munawar Faruqui
Two of Munawar Faruqui’s co-accused get ad-interim bail, two more remain in jail

The post Munawar Faruqui case: Co accused Sadakat Khan and Nalin Yadav get bail appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Multiple Indian and international citizens, writers, artists filmmakers, sattirrists and organisations, have come together in solidarity with indian artists Munawar Faruqui, Nalin Yadav, Prakhar Vyas, Edwin Anthony, and Sadakat Khan, and called for the dismissal of all charges against them. The statement came in on Friday, just as news broke that two artists who were co-accused with Faruqui have been granted bail, however two others still remain in jail.

According to Indian Express, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday granted interim bail to Prakhar Vyas and Edwin Anthony, who had been arrested along with stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui. They were all arrested for allegedly “hurting religious sentiments” during a show earlier this year. Munawar and Priyam Vyas were recently released on bail, Nalin Yadav and Sadaqat Khan, the other accused in the case, are still in jail. The IE reported that Sadaqat’s bail plea was rejected, for the second time, by the Indore district court on Tuesday, while Faruqui was able to walk out of Indore jail on Saturday but only after the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Indore received a “call from a judge of the Supreme Court”, urging them to check the website for the apex court’s order that had put a stay on Munawar’s production warrant and granted him ad-interim bail.” Priyam Vyas was earlier granted bail by the juvenile court.

Citizens groups, artists and writers groups, across the country, and from different parts of the world are following the case and have expressed “deep concerns around the rights to liberty and freedom of speech in India.” They have held online shows, solidarity meetings, and signed public statements demanding that the trumped up charges against the performers be dropped.

Comedy is not a crime

Artists from India, and and from around the world have issued a joint statement, reaffirming that they stood on solidarity with Munawar Faruqui, saying, “A young Muslim stand-up comic arrested in India for a joke he did not crack.” The global community of stand-up comics, artists, political satirists, writers,  musicians, actors, entertainers, and concerned individuals, stated they were “alarmed at what is happening  in India, a country where laughter and irreverence has been part of traditions across religions  and communities, and humour has been deployed by artists through centuries.”

They added that Munawar has had to go all the way to the Supreme Court of India “just for interim  bail, which was his legal right. He has now been released on bail, but the charges against him  in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh remain. We call for the dropping or dismissal of these trumped-up charges for all six individuals.” 

Munawar faces criminal charges of “uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious  feelings” among other sections of India’s penal code, for jokes he never cracked, in a  performance that did not take place. These absurd but serious charges carry jail time. The state  of Uttar Pradesh has also sought Munawar’s arrest on equally absurd charges. The institutions of a changing India appear to be colluding to give out a message—humour threatens the  powerful. And humour by a Muslim man in India will not be tolerated by Hindu supremacists.”

The artists said, “Munawar took risks that all artists take. But the stakes are higher for him. He comes  from a humble background. His family lost their home during the large-scale 2002 violence in  Gujarat, and moved to Mumbai where Munawar sold utensils and did other odd jobs during  the day and studied at night. He started stand-up comedy just two years ago, quickly garnering  some success. As artists and concerned individuals, we are alarmed that in a country that claims to be the  world’s largest democracy, a stand-up artist was imprisoned for over a month, and faces serious  criminal charges, for no crime.” They have all “called for an end to this persecution of Munawar Faruqui, his  associates, and all other performers, who must have the right in any real democracy to use their  art to comment on their times”.  

Even more solidarity has come from diasporic Indian groups such as Progressive India Collective in partnership with PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection, Freemuse, and Reclaiming India. PEN America’s membership of over 7500 novelists, journalists and writing professionals makes it the largest of over 100 centres of the  PEN International network, and its Artists at Risk Connection is an online collaboration of more than 600 global organisations that provide life-saving resources to artists worldwide who face oppression, persecution, arrest, and violence for their creative work. Freemuse advocates internationally for freedom of artistic expression and cultural diversity, and has UN Special Consultative Status to the Economic and Social Council (UN-ECOSOC) and UNESCO. Reclaiming India is a joint initiative of the  global Indian diaspora comprising Dalit Solidarity Forum, the Global Indian Progressive Alliance, Hindus for Human Rights, India Civil Watch International, Indian American Muslim Council, and Students Against Hindutva Ideology. 

According to the collective statement issued, director of PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection, Julie Trébault, said, “Comedy and satire are necessary to ensure a healthy democracy, as they facilitate the free communication of new ideas and  critical thinking. The arrest of Munawar Faruqui, his friends and associates, on arbitrary and unfounded  grounds is nothing short of a violation of their fundamental right to free speech and expression. We condemn the arbitrary arrests of these artists and call for their immediate release, as well as dropping  all charges that have been made against them.” 

Reclaiming India, has also released a statement during its South Asian American stand-up comedy special in support of Munawar, saying, “Faruqui is one individual, but a young, outspoken Muslim comedian. His case  encapsulates so much of what is happening in India in recent years. We are seeing rising discrimination and violence toward Muslims and other minorities, towards artists and members of the media, and  towards any public figure who dares to dissent against the government. That is why we, as young South  Asian Americans, are taking a stand in solidarity with Faruqui, and South Asia’s numerous others  prisoners of conscience.” 

Freemuse executive director Dr. Srirak Plipat, said, “The right to freedom of expression is a human right guaranteed by human rights instruments including  Article 19 of the ICCPR. Arresting comedian Munawar Faruqui under the allegation of hurting religious  sentiments for his stand-up performance is in clear violation of that right. Freemuse stands with Munawar Faruqui and his associates and calls for  the Indian authorities to release the detainees and drop all charges against them.” 

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Sessions court denies bail to stand-up comic held for ‘insulting’ Hindu deities

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A Bench of Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman and BR Gavai granted ad interim bail to Munawar Faruqui in connection with an FIR registered against him by the Madhya Pradesh Police for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

The top court has also stayed the production warrant issued against him by the Uttar Pradesh Police in a separate case, reported Bar & Bench. Further, the Division Bench issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh Government, while observing that neither the precedent laid down in the 2014 Supreme Court judgment (Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar) was followed, nor the procedure under section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was complied with.

Arnesh Kumar had laid down certain guidelines for the Police to follow before making an arrest, whereas section 41 provides for the exceptions when an officer can arrest an alleged accused without a warrant.

The comedian was arrested on January 1, 2021 for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Hindu Gods during his show in Indore, based on a complaint filed by Eklavya Singh Gaur, chief of Hindutva organisation Hind Rakshak Sangathan.

On January 5, his bail plea was rejected by the Sessions Court. In an appeal to the High Court, Justice Rohit Arya of the Madhya Pradesh High Court refused to grant him bail observing that, “Such people must not be spared”.

By his order dated January 28, 2021, the court observed, “This Court refrains from commenting upon contentions of the parties touching on merits but, regard being had to the material seized and the statements of the witnesses and that the investigation is in progress, no case is made out for grant of bail.”

Justice Arya had noted that the investigation was underway and, “The possibility of collection of more incriminating material and complacency of other persons cannot also be ruled out.”

The order may be read here: 

Related:

BREAKING: Madhya Pradesh HC rejects comedian Munawar Faruqui’s bail plea
Such people must not be spared: MP HC on Munawar Faruqui’s bail plea
Sessions court denies bail to stand-up comic held for ‘insulting’ Hindu deities

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It has been a month since comedian Munawar Faruqui has been arrested, he is still in jail. On January 28, 2021, Justice Rohit Arya of Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed the bail pleas of Faruqui and his co performer Nalin Yadav. Justice Arya had reserved orders on their bail applications after noting that people who take undue advantage of others’ religious sentiments and emotions must not be spared.

The court had observed, “This Court refrains from commenting upon contentions of the parties touching on merits but, regard being had to the material seized and the statements of the witnesses and that the investigation is in progress, no case is made out for grant of bail.” The court added, “The evidence/material collected so far, suggest that in an organized public show under the garb of stand-up comedy at a public place on commercial lines, prima facie; scurrilous, disparaging utterances, outraging religious feelings of a class of citizens of India with deliberate intendment, were made by the applicant.”

The court highlighted that, “It is the constitutional duty of every citizen of the country and also of the States to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India irrespective of religious, linguistic, regional or sectional diversities and to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture (Article 15A (e) and (f) of the Constitution of India.” The HC had also rejected the contention of Faruqui that he had not uttered any statements as alleged in the criminal complaint. Considering the video footage of the show and witness statements, Justice Rohit Arya opined, “ It is not a case of no evidence. More so, the investigation is in progress.”

As reported in Indian and international media, Faruqui’s arrest is being seen as a part of the crackdown on artists, activists, and religious minorities. In response, and in solidarity, a group of young South Asian American comedians have come together to perform a virtual comedy show titled “The Right to Laugh.” This solidarity show is being organized by Reclaiming India, a joint initiative of the global Indian diaspora, representing diverse voices, issues, identities, and their intersections. “We have strong roots in the country of our origin and stand by the Constitution of India,” said the members in a statement released. The core members of Reclaiming India are Dalit Solidarity Forum, Global Indian Progressive Alliance, Hindus for Human Rights, India Civil Watch International, Indian American Muslim Council, and Students Against Hindutva Ideology. The Philadelphia-based Progressive India Collective is cosponsoring this event.

According to the pre-event information, “United by their belief in human rights and freedom of speech, these rising comedians will showcase their talents while also calling attention to the injustice that Faruqui has been facing for the past month.” The performers include artists Myesha Chowdury, Sai D, Abby Govindan, Pallavi Gunalan, Apoorva Gundeti, Masood Haque, Rishi Mahesh, Yamini Nambimadom, and Amar Risbud. Award-winning poet, filmmaker, educator and performer Fatimah Asghar will be the master of ceremonies.

This show will be held on Saturday, February 6, 2021, at 10:30 PM, IST and will be live-streamed on Facebook and YouTube.

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Stand-up comic Faruqui Munawar’s custody extended by two weeks

The post Coming soon! The Right to Laugh: a virtual comedy show appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Justice Rohit Arya of Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed the bail pleas of comedian Munawar Faruqui and his co performer Nalin Yadav. Justice Arya had reserved orders on their bail applications after noting that people who take undue advantage of others’ religious sentiments and emotions must not be spared.

By his order dated January 28, 2021, the court observed, “This Court refrains from commenting upon contentions of the parties touching on merits but, regard being had to the material seized and the statements of the witnesses and that the investigation is in progress, no case is made out for grant of bail.”

Justice Arya said that, “The evidence/material collected so far, suggest that in an organized public show under the garb of stand-up comedy at a public place on commercial lines, prima facie; scurrilous, disparaging utterances, outraging religious feelings of a class of citizens of India with deliberate intendment, were made by the applicant.”

He highlighted that, “It is the constitutional duty of every citizen of the country and also of the States to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India irrespective of religious, linguistic, regional or sectional diversities and to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture (Article 15A (e) and (f) of the Constitution of India.”

Emphasising on the role of the State, he said, “States must endeavour that ecosystem and sustenance of coexistence in our welfare society is not polluted by negative forces and must strive for achievement of goals as enshrined under Article 51A(e) and (f) of the Constitution of India in particular as these provisions are part of our vibrant Constitution and not dead letters.”

The High Court further rejected the contention of Faruqui that he had not uttered any statements as alleged in the criminal complaint. Considering the video footage of the show and witness statements, Justice Rohit Arya opined, “At this stage it is difficult to countenance the submissions of the learned counsel for the applicant as complacency of the applicant cannot be ruled out, besides vulnerability of his acts in public domain. It is not a case of no evidence. More so, the investigation is in progress.”

The judge went a step ahead and remarked, “The possibility of collection of more incriminating material and complacency of other persons cannot also be ruled out. Further, it has come on record that a similar nature of offence has been registered against the applicant at Police Station Georgetown, Prayagraj, State of Uttar Pradesh.”

Munawar Faruqui and five others were arrested on January 1, 2021 by the Indore Police on allegations that he made derogatory remarks against Hindu Gods during a recent stand-up show. Subsequently, a complaint was filed by Eklavya Singh Gaur, chief of Hindutva organisation Hind Rakshak Sangathan. On January 5, the Sessions court had dismissed his bail application.  

The order may be read here:

Related:

Such people must not be spared: MP HC on Munawar Faruqui’s bail plea
Sessions court denies bail to stand-up comic held for ‘insulting’ Hindu deities
Stand-up comic Faruqui Munawar’s custody extended by two weeks

The post BREAKING: Madhya Pradesh HC rejects comedian Munawar Faruqui’s bail plea appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Committed to defending civil liberties and democratic rights, People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) has strongly condemned the continued incarceration and denial of bail to Munawar Faruqui and five others in Indore, Madhya Pradesh in the beginning of the year and has appealed for their immediate release.

The statement issued by PUDR states, “This case is symbolic of the flagrant disregard for fundamental freedoms and the failure of judiciary in upholding these freedoms, thereby encouraging the majoritarian state’s vicious attempts to target views contrary to its agenda of Hindu Nationalism.”

Noting that free speech and expression are fundamental rights that every citizen enjoys, PUDR’s statement reads, “Firstly, arresting a comedian for speech meant to entertain is an attack on the fundamental right to speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution of India. Multiple court judgements have stipulated that restrictions to speech by invoking Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code (outraging religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) requires proof of ‘intent’ that is calculated to create public disorder.

It is to be noted that in Faruqui’s case, not only can the intent not be inferred from a small ticket-based voluntarily-attended programme, the alleged crime of objectionable speech has itself not taken place as the show was curtailed even before he began his act. The Indore East Superintendent of Police has been reported to state that the complainant had ‘overheard’ the objectionable jokes during rehearsal.”

The organisation has also said that the arbitrary arrest and denial of bail constitutes overreach by both the police and the judiciary citing the recent pronouncement in the Arnab Goswami bail matter where the top court Bench held that the ‘bail not jail’ principle must be followed.

PUDR has in the past highlighted the systematic criminalisation of Muslims by the misuse of criminal prosecution and deems Faruqui and his team members’ arrests a fit case of this very same criminalisation where the police and judiciary are pandering to the Hindu vigilante groups that target journalists and comedians.

On January 25, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had reserved its order on the comedian and his co-accused’s bail applications expressing displeasure at his alleged “objectionable statements” against Hindu gods and deities.  

The entire text of PUDR’s statement may be read here: 

Related:

Such people must not be spared: MP HC on Munawar Faruqui’s bail plea

Sessions court denies bail to stand-up comic held for ‘insulting’ Hindu deities

Stand-up comic Faruqui Munawar’s custody extended by two weeks

Is Personal Liberty in India available to all?

The post PUDR condemns the arrest of comedian Munawar Faruqui and his teammates appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Justice Rohit Arya of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has reserved orders on the bail applications of comedian Munawar Faruqui and his co-performer, who were arrested by the Indore police on January 2 in a case related to alleged hurting of religious sentiments.

“Such people must not be spared. I will reserve the order on merits,” said Justice Rohit Arya. Parties that opposed the bail plea of Munawar submitted that the comedian has made highly objectionable statements against Hindu gods and deities.

According to LiveLaw, one lawyer argued that Munawar has posted several videos previously which were circulated on social media and that he repeated the same remarks on three different occasions i.e., comedy shows. “This has led to other comedians making such remarks about Hindu Gods. This is happening with 70 percent of the comedians”, she said.

Further, Justice Rohit Arya observed, “But why do you take undue advantage of others’ religious sentiments and emotions. What is wrong with your mindset? How can you do this for the purpose of your business?”

The court asked Senior Advocate Vivek Tankha who appeared for Faruqui whether or not he wanted to withdraw the bail application. He submitted, “He has committed no offence in the matter your lordship. Bail should be granted.”

Justice Arya has asked other counsels objecting to the bail application to file their concerned documents and supported evidence. He then reserved orders on the bail application of Nalin Yadav, arrested as a co-performer with Faruqui.

On January 5, the Additional District and Sessions court Judge Yatindra Kumar Guru rejected the bail pleas of Munawar and Nalin who were booked for allegedly insulting Hindu deities during their comedy show, based on a complaint made by Eklavya Singh Gaur, convenor of Hind Rakshak Sangathan and the son of BJP MLA.

Related:

Sessions court denies bail to stand-up comic held for ‘insulting’ Hindu deities
UP Police submit production warrant for Munawar Faruqui
Stand-up comic Faruqui Munawar’s custody extended by two weeks

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