Telangana High Court grants conditional bail to suspended BJP MLA Raja Singh held for insulting Prophet Muhammad

Raja Singh was arrested by the Hyderabad City Police under the Preventive Detection Act on 25 August after he made provocative remarks against Prophet Muhammad.

BySumit Jha

Published Nov 09, 2022 | 6:20 PMUpdatedNov 09, 2022 | 6:22 PM

Raja Singh

The Telangana High Court on Wednesday, 9 November, granted conditional bail to suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh, who was arrested on 25 August for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad.

While ordering his release, the Bench of Justice Abhishek Reddy and Justice J Sridevi prohibited him from holding rallies or speaking to the media.

“He has been also told to not post anything on social media for three months,” his lawyer Neelam Bhargav told South First.

Singh’s wife had approached the court, saying his detention was illegal. The police had arrested him under the Preventive Detention (PD) Act. He was lodged in the Cherlapally Central Prison in Hyderabad.

The court also said that Singh’s wife, his counsel and only four immediate relatives could receive him at the prison.

The prison authorities, after receiving the bail order, will release Singh.

Singh is the first legislator from the Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to face the PD Act.

As many as 101 criminal cases have been registered against him at different police stations in Hyderabad since 2004. Eighteen of them are communal offences.

Why was he arrested?

Singh posted an offensive video on 22 August on YouTube with the title “Faruqui K Aaka Itihaas Suniye [sic]”, in which he spoke against Prophet Muhammad.

Raja Singh

The BJP suspended Raja Singh after he made comments against Prophet Muhammad(TigerRajaSingh/Twitter)

The police alleged that the video — which has since been taken down — was uploaded to provoke the Muslim community and cause a breach of peace and public tranquillity.

Raja Singh “commented very blasphemously against Prophet Muhammad and his lifestyle,” the police had said in a statement.

The cops added that when the video went viral, protests erupted in different parts of Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana.

He was arrested on 23 August but got bail as the compulsory notice served under Section 41(a) of the CrPC was not followed. The section under which he was booked requires the notice to be served first.

Sensing danger to life and property, people panicked and closed their shops and establishments, the police noted. The entire population of the city and the state was under the grip of fear and shock by his activity, they had said.

“Any venomous hate speech has the potential of provoking individuals to commit acts of riot, indiscriminate violence, terrorism, etc. Offensive speech has real and devastating effects on people’s lives and risks their health and safety and severely affects fraternity, the dignity of individuals, unity and national integration and also offends the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India, [sic]” the police had said in their statement.

The cops also noted that Singh had been continuously creating hatred and ill-will between communities, resulting in widespread unrest among the people in Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana.

“He has been continuously causing widespread fear, unrest, and panic among the general public for a long period by committing such offences and acting in a manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order apart from disturbing the peace, tranquillity and communal harmony in the society,” police had said after his arrest.

The BJP suspended him from the organisation after the video surfaced.

Arguments by Singh’s counsel

Hours before the detention, three police stations in Hyderabad served notices to Singh under Section 41(a) of the CrPC.

A case was registered at the Shahinayathgunj Police Station against Singh in April for allegedly promoting hatred during Ram Navmi celebrations. He was booked under Sections 153A, 295A, 504, and 505 (2) of the IPC.

The police in Mangalhat booked him for threatening voters during the Uttar Pradesh election in February. The case registered was under Sections 505(2), 171-C, and 171-F of the IPC, and Sections 123 and 125 of the Representation of People Act.

Arguing against the detention, said senior counsel Ravi Chander told the court that none of the three cases, based on which the PD Act was invoked, was related to disturbing public order.

Chandre also submitted that 12 other cases, too, did suggest that the MLA’s action disturbed public peace.

However, Advocate General of Telangana BS Prasad said that the detention authority had felt it necessary to charge him under the PD Act. He pointed out that there was an uproar in the city after the remand report of his alleged remarks against the Prophet was rejected by the lower court, and people hit the streets against the order.