New Delhi, India – The Delhi Police on Wednesday opposed YouTuber Ajeet Bharti’s plea for anticipatory bail in a case over alleged casteist remarks against Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad, arguing that the statements attracted provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The Police told Justice Saurabh Banerjee that the alleged remarks directly insulted a particular caste and were made publicly on a social media platform.
“On the facts of the case, there are clear cut allegations which are directly insulting a particular caste. All these words have been said on a social media platform. It is not that it was done within closed walls. Thirdly, he does not belong to the same category of caste. So these three things are there to attract the SC/ST Act,” the prosecutor said. Azad’s counsel also opposed the bail plea, describing the alleged remarks as derogatory and intentional.
Bharti’s lawyer, however, argued that the SC/ST Act was not attracted as there was no intention to insult or humiliate Azad on the ground of his caste, and that the remarks had to be considered in the context of the social media exchange in which they were made. During the hearing, the court questioned the police over the investigation and asked how many notices had been issued to Bharti to join the probe. “No notices sent to him? Why? You don’t require custodial interrogation or what?” Justice Banerjee asked. The prosecutor said the investigating officer had obtained Bharti’s address only two days ago through a social media platform, which was why notices could not be sent earlier.
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Bharti’s counsel maintained that a caste reference, by itself, would not constitute an offence unless it was accompanied by an intention to insult or humiliate a person on account of caste. After hearing the parties, Justice Banerjee said he would pass an order on the anticipatory bail plea. Bharti moved the High Court after a trial court rejected his pre-arrest bail plea on September 7. Azad, chief of the Bhim Army, had alleged in a complaint to the Delhi Police that Bharti made caste-based, abusive, derogatory, and humiliating remarks against him, members of the Scheduled Caste community, and B.R. Ambedkar on social media. The FIR has been registered under provisions of the SC/ST Act, the Information Technology Act, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
