The Allahabad High Court has directed a man to serve drinking water and sherbet (sweet drink) for one week in order to create goodwill and amity while granting bail to an accused of disturbing communal harmony.
The Nawab of Hapur was accused of being part of a mob that indulged in a group clash after the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election results.
Justice Ajay Bhanot, while granting bail to the Nawab in its order dated May 20 said, “Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb is not a ritual to be observed in conversations, in fact, it is a soul force to be harnessed in conduct. Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb culture is not mere tolerance of differences, but heartful embracement of diversity. The ethos of the State of Uttar Pradesh brings out the catholicity of Indian philosophy.”
The Court also said that the applicant will not tamper with the evidence during the trial, will not influence any witness and will appear before the trial court on the date fixed, unless personal presence is exempted.
“The applicant shall not directly or indirectly make inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him from disclosing such facts to the Court to any police officer or tamper with the evidence,” said the court.
The counsel for the petitioner had proposed that both the parties would serve sherbet to passersby and thirsty travellers for one week at a public place in Hapur district at a date and time of their choosing in May-June 2022.
The court directed that the parties may make an application to the superintendent of police, Hapur and the district magistrate, Hapur in this regard. “The local police and administration shall ensure that appropriate arrangements are made so that the activity can continue in peace and without any impediment and creates the intended goodwill and amity”.
Giving the example of Mahatma Gandhi, the court further said, “Seekers of different paths would do well to remember him who, by the example of his life and the fact of his death, reminds us that the quest of all four religions and the essence of an Indian’s dharma is love for fellow beings. Someone’s hate consumed his body, but not his love for humanity. A bullet stilled his mortal frame but could not silence the truth in him.”
Emphasizing the importance of freedom, the court observed that many generations of Indians gave their blood, sweat, tears and toil to wrest freedom from the shackles of slavery.
The accused has been in jail since March 11, 2022. Earlier, his bail application was rejected by the learned Sessions Judge of Hapur on April 11, 2022.
An FIR was lodged following an altercation that took place between political rivals which had escalated into a violent brawl in the aftermath of the Uttar Pradesh assembly election results.
An FIR was lodged at police station Simbhawali of Hapur district under Sections 147, 148, 504, 307, 354Kha, and 324 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
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