Forwarded, not created: Punjab and Haryana HC grants bail to Fatehabad doctor booked for pro-Pakistan video
Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice N S Shekhawat noted the senior citizen’s ill health, and said continued custody serves no purpose.
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The court was informed that Ahmed was scheduled for bypass surgery on July 2, and required urgent post-operative care, which, the petitioners said, was not available in jail.
(Source: File)The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted regular bail to a 65-year-old practising bone-setter from Fatehabad, who was arrested for allegedly sharing a pro-Pakistan AI-generated video on Facebook that was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during Operation Sindoor.
Justice N S Shekhawat, while allowing the bail plea on July 7, observed that Mushtaq Ahmed is a senior citizen with serious health complications and has been in custody since May 17. The court noted that no material was left to be recovered from him and the investigation was nearly complete.
“Further custody of the petitioner will not serve any useful purpose,” Justice Shekhawat said in his order.
The case was argued by Senior Advocate Bipan Ghai along with Advocates Nikhil Ghai and Paras Talwar, who submitted that the video in question was not created by the petitioner but had been mistakenly forwarded by him. The police, they said, had already examined his Facebook account, call records, passport and bank details and found no suspicious foreign transactions or recent visits to Pakistan.
“The petitioner visited Pakistan only till 1990 to meet his ailing relatives and hasn’t returned in the last 35 years,” Ghai told the court, citing the passport verification done by the investigating agency.
Ahmed, who has no other criminal cases against him, was booked under sections 152 and 197(1)(d) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in an FIR registered at the City Police Station, Fatehabad, on May 15. According to the complaint, the video mocked the sacrifices of the Indian Army and praised Pakistan.
The defence argued that the offences invoked, including the new sedition-equivalent Section 152 of BNS, were not applicable. Ghai drew attention to the Supreme Court’s interim directions in the S G Vombatkere case, where proceedings under the now-suspended sedition law (Section 124-A IPC) have been kept in abeyance. “Section 152 of BNS is materially similar and its constitutional validity is under challenge,” Ghai submitted.
The court was also informed that Ahmed was scheduled for bypass surgery on July 2, and required urgent post-operative care, which, the petitioners said, was not available in jail.
Submitting medical records in support, Ahmed tendered an “unconditional apology” and assured the court he would not repeat such conduct. “There was no intention to malign the country or the Army. The video was shared inadvertently,” his lawyers said.
Rejecting the State’s opposition to bail, the court directed that Ahmed be released on furnishing adequate bail bonds before the trial or duty magistrate.
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