"Don't Accept Any Recognition/Felicitations From Anyone": Haryana Court Imposes Condition While Granting Bail To Ram Bhagat Gopal

A Haryana Court, while granting bail to Rambhagat Gopal in a case registered against him for allegedly making communal speeches at Pataudi in Gurugram imposed a condition on him that he shall not accept any recognition or felicitations from any person or group or society etc. individually or collectively, in connection with this case.Additional Sessions Judge, Gurugram Dr. D. N. Bhardwaj emphasized that the Constitution of India guarantees freedom of speech to all citizens but that freedom is not wild free.Importantly, the Court further said: "There are reasonable restrictions also on this freedom of speech. Similarly, freedom of life and liberty of a person is equally important and guaranteed by the Constitution but keeping in view the fundamental principle of criminal jurisprudence balance between the societal interest viz-a-viz personal liberty is to be maintained. The balance is very fine and delicate."Granting him bail the court took into account that he is in custody since 12.7.2021 and is about 19 years of age and he is not required for any recovery etc and that trial is likely to take considerable time. He has also been restrained from organizing or attending or addressing any public gathering which is likely to promote disharmony or feeling of enmity, hatred or ill-will between religious/racial groups/community or any gathering which is prejudicial to the maintenance of religious harmony or likely to disturb the public tranquility or to cause fear or alarm or a feeling of insecurity amongst members of any religious group/community or to outrage the religious feelings of any religious group/community.BackgroundGopal was arrested in this case for allegedly making provocative comments at a maha panchayat in Pataudi wherein he allegedly provoked people to abduct Muslim girls and to kill persons of the Muslim community.Thereafter, an FIR had been registered against Gopal Sharma alias Ram Bhagat Gopal under sections 53A (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion), 295A (malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings) of IPC at Pataudi police station and police arrested him today.Earlier, Judicial Magistrate Mohammad Sageer had denied him bail in this matter.Perusing the contents of the FIR and the video recording available, the Court had noted that it was clear that a gathering was present where the accused, Gopal Sharma gave hate speeches and used inflammatory language raised slogans in the name of religion to kill persons of particular religious community.The act of the accused i.e. hate speech qua instigating abduction and killing of girls and persons of a particular religious community is itself a form of violence and such people and their inflammatory speeches are obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit," observed the Court.Denying him bail, the Court said that enlarging him on bail despite his heinous crime which amounts to divide of the peaceful society on the basis of religion or caste would give the wrong message to the divisive forces.Click Here To Download OrderRead Order

"Don't Accept Any Recognition/Felicitations From Anyone": Haryana Court Imposes Condition While Granting Bail To Ram Bhagat Gopal

Sparsh Upadhyay

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