The Allahabad High Court (HC) has granted bail to eight men arrested for allegedly hosting an Iftar Party onboard a boat in Ganga River in Varanasi, and allegedly throwing leftovers of non-vegetarian food in the water body during Ramadan in March this year.

Notably, 14 persons had been arrested in connection with the case following allegations that their actions had hurt religious sentiments and had also disrupted communal harmony. The court issued two separate orders on Friday, in which Justice Rajiv Lochan Shukla granted bail to 5 persons, while three others received relief from Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha.

Court flags concerns over social harmony

While hearing the case, Justice Shukla noted that actions capable of hurting religious sentiments could result in wider social unrest. The court mentioned in its order, “Disruption of religious harmony by the acts of a few may lead to a larger incident.” He also highlighted the growing role of social media in promoting misinformation and escalating tensions.

The order read, “Social media platforms, which disseminate information at lightning speed to every corner of the globe, have not only become a source of entertainment and information sharing but have also emerged as major hubs of disinformation.” While upholding that broader social issues remain important, the court ruled that bail decisions must ultimately be based on the facts presented in the case. Justice Shukla also recorded that the accused and their families had regretted the ‘pain’ that had been caused to the society at large.

Meanwhile, the matter concerning the remaining accused will further be heard on May 18.

Accused claim false implication

During the proceedings, the counsel appearing for the accused contended that his clients had falsely been implicated in the case and were not even named in the originally-filed First Information Report (FIR). The HC had earlier granted time to the state government to file a counter affidavit before considering the bail applications.

It is noteworthy that a sessions court in Varanasi had earlier denied bail to the accused on April 1. At that time, the lower court observed that the incident appeared to have been committed with the intention of disrupting social harmony.

Details of the case

The controversy erupted on March 16 after the police registered an FIR following a complaint filed by Rajat Jaiswal, president of the Varanasi Unit of the BJP Yuva Morcha.

The complainant alleged that the accused had organised an Iftar gathering on a boat in the Ganga River on March 15, consumed non-vegetarian food and allegedly threw the leftover waste into the river, which allegedly hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus. Subsequently, the police booked and arrested the accused under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and also invoked sections related to defiling a place of worship and outraging religious feelings.