New Delhi: Ratan Lal, a history professor at Delhi University’s Hindu College who was arrested last night over a social media post that appeared to cast doubt on claims of a ‘Shivling’ discovered inside Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque complex, has been released on bail.
Officers from the Cyber Police Station in north Delhi apprehended Mr Lal. He is accused of inciting religious hatred amongst groups and performing “acts harmful to the maintenance of unity.” His lawyer filed a bail application when he was brought into court this afternoon.
Mr Lal was being held in custody for 14 days by the Delhi police, who claimed they had received six complaints against him so far.
Mr Lal was being held in custody for 14 days by the Delhi police, who claimed they had received six complaints against him so far.
“It was not expected from such an educated person,” a Delhi police lawyer claimed, noting that the professor was also defending the YouTube videos’ uploads.
His arrest, according to Mr Lal’s lawyer, was a “abuse of law.” “Intellectuals will swarm the prisons,” he predicted. He added that the FIR should not have been filed because there was no case. He also requested a departmental investigation into the arrest.
The police side defended its actions by claiming that they can conduct an arrest to prevent the accused from committing more crimes.
“A wrong message will go to society if bail is granted. Any scrupulous person will get encouraged for such posts if he is enlarged on bail now,” the Delhi police counsel said.
“No evidence to date to show that there was violence because of his social media posts. In that case, how can the police invoke Sec 153 A (promoting enmity between two groups) against him?” the defendants argued.
“If a person’s tolerance is low, how can I be held responsible? India is a democratic country. Freedom of expression? This FIR ought to be quashed,” Mr Lal’s counsel argued while seeking bail.
Following a police complaint from a Delhi-based lawyer, a FIR was filed against Mr Lal on Tuesday night. Mr Lal recently tweeted a “derogatory, inflammatory, and offensive tweet on the Shivling,” according to counsel Vineet Jindal’s complaint.
The statement made by Mr Lal in a tweet is “instigating and provoking”, the lawyer said in the complaint. The issue is very sensitive in nature and is pending before the court, he added.
Mr Lal had previously stated in defense of his position, “If you say anything in India, someone’s feelings would be hurt. So there’s nothing new here. As a historian, I’ve made a number of observations. I used very cautious language in my post when I wrote things down, and I continue to do so. I’m going to protect myself.”
Mr Lal tweeted last week that his 20-year-old son was receiving threats on Facebook Messenger as a result of his tweet on the Gyanvapi mosque.
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