Patna HC grants bail to man accused of shouting abusive slogans about PM Modi at Opposition rally

The Patna High Court on February 11 granted bail to a man accused of shouting abusive slogans about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his mother during an Opposition rally in Bihar in August.

A man had been arrested on August 29, two days after the incident occurred during the INDIA bloc’s rally in Darbhanga. Videos of the incident had been widely shared on social media, drawing sharp criticism from Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and its National Democratic Alliance partners.

The incident had led to a clash between workers of the BJP and the Congress in Patna on August 30, when the Hindutva party was protesting against the slogans.

A bench of Justice Arun Kumar Jha was hearing the bail application of the man, who has been booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act pertaining to promoting enmity, hatred, or disharmony between groups, uttering obscene words in public, statements conducing to public mischief, intentional insults to provoke a breach of public peace and defamation.

He was also booked for acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country.

The name of the petitioner had come up during the investigation into the matter.

The petitioner had contended that he had been falsely implicated in the matter and that he had...

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