Sessions Court Refuses Anticipatory Bail To 54-Year-Old Pune Man Over Objectionable Post On PM Modi

Mumbai: The sessions court has refused to grant anticipatory bail to a 54-year-old man from Pune, namely Santosh Darekar, for sharing an “objectionable” post on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his social media account.

About The Case

Darekar was booked by the cyber cell on the complaint of a BJP party worker. It was claimed that the complainant came across objectionable morphed pictures of Modi on social media. The pictures were first posted by one Shilpa Padhya and were again posted by Darekar on his account, which is in the name of Jai Shree Ram Jai Hindu Rashtra.

After registration of the complaint, the cyber cell issued a notice to Darekar, but he failed to appear before the police. He, instead, moved the sessions court for anticipatory bail. Darekar claimed that he could not attend the cyber cell investigation, as his aged mother was not well. Darekar claimed that the comments were made by a woman, Shilpa Padhye.

The applicant is not from any group that spreads hatred or objectionable posts. His plea was opposed by the prosecution, claiming that Darekar has prima facie committed the offence and his mobile is required to be seized. The court noted that the offence for which Darekar was booked was non-bailable. Besides, the court said, there is a prima facie case against the accused, and that can not be overlooked.