Allahabad High Court denies bail to man accused of vandalising Hindu temple
The Allahabad High Court recently denied bail to one, Shahrukh, who was accused of desecrating a temple statue of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and attempting to kill a priest at the temple while fleeing the crime scene [Shahrukh vs State of UP].
Justice Ashutosh Srivastava observed that there was evidence to suggest Shahrukh's active involvement in the destruction of the idols. The Court emphasized that such offences cannot be allowed to thrive in society by taking a lenient stance.
"The destruction of idol of Lord Shiva's family was made in the Holy Savan month with intention to disturb the communal harmony. Offences of the kind that have a tendency to promote hatred between classes of people or communities, have to be put down with a heavy hand. These offences cannot be permitted to flourish in society by adopting a soft-pedalling approach at the cost of widespread damage to the community and to the sentiments of the people," the Court observed.
It proceeded to reject the bail plea, concluding that it lacked merit.
The accused, Shahrukh was accused of being part of a group of persons that was involved in the destruction of idols of Lord Shiva’s family during the holy month of Sawan.
He was booked under Sections 298 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult religion), 299 (malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 302 (words etc. intended to wound religious feelings), 109 (unlawful assembly), and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
In his bail plea, Shahrukh submitted that he had been in jail since July this year. His counsel also asserted that he was innocent and falsely implicated in the case. It was contended that Shahrukh was not named in the initial First Information Report (FIR) and that there was no solid evidence against him.
The accused man's brother, Sajid Khan, further argued that CCTV footage could prove Shahrukh's absence at the scene during the incident.
The prosecution opposed the bail plea by highlighting the seriousness of the offense, emphasizing that the desecration of religious idols during a sacred festival was likely to incite communal disharmony.
The prosecution also pointed out that there was eyewitness testimony in this case that linked Shahrukh to the crime.
Among other allegations, Shahrukh was also accused of injuring Ram Kishan, the husband of an eyewitness and a temple priest, while making his escape.
After hearing rival arguments, the Court found no merit in the bail application.
“Perusal of the record reveals that at first instance applicant was involved in destruction of idol of Lord Shiva's family and tried to kill Ram Kishan (Priest of Temple) with knife. The police has also recovered the alleged knife from the bushes,” the Court noted, before rejecting the bail plea.
The bail applicant was represented by Advocates Amar Nath Tiwari,Raj Kumar Chauhan and Rakesh Kumar Singh.
[Read order]