The Karnataka High Court on Thursday issued a notice to the State directing that no coercive action be taken against RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, who had earlier this month been booked under various IPC provisions in Srirangapatna. The order was passed by a vacation bench of the High Court consisting of Justice Rajesh Rai, with Bhat's counsel arguing that the case was politically motivated. Bhat had also obtained bail before the III Additional Sessions and District Judge in Mandya on grounds of ill health, citing a cardiovascular surgery he underwent in 2022. This had come in the wake of a speech delivered at a Hindu Jagrana Vedike event on December 24, held to mark Hanuman Jayanthi, in which Bhat had allegedly made several remarks including one referring to the husbands of Muslim women, and that the Modi Government had given them "permanent husbands." Bhat had been booked after a complaint was filed against him by local activist Nahma Nazeer, under sections of the IPC including 354 (outraging modesty of a woman), 294 (Obscene acts and songs), 509 (insult a woman’s modesty), 506 (criminal intimidation), 153 (a) (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence), 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class), 295 (a) (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.) and 298 (uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings. With inputs from PTI
