Jammu Court grants relief to Congress Lok Sabha candidate's son in case over fake video on Amit Shah

A Court in Jammu on Thursday granted interim anticipatory bail to Jammu and Kashmir Congress Working President Raman Bhalla's son Jai Sidh Bhalla in a case accusing him of circulating a "forged and doctored video" of Union Home Minister Amit Shah [Jai Sidh Bhalla vs UT of J&K through SSP Jammu]..Principal Sessions Judge Sanjay Parihar granted the 18-year-old the interim protection till May 8, while issuing notice to the Public Prosecutor for filing objections along with the police report."In the meantime, it is directed that the applicant in the event of his arrest shall be admitted to bail till 8-05-2024 on his furnishing surety and personal bonds in the amount of Rs 50,000 each, provided the applicant is not involved in any offence, which is punishable with the imprisonment exceeding the term of 07 years or any other offence triable by Special Judge including under NDPS Act, Forest Act/financial scam/offence against women or land grabbing case involving govt property," the Court said in the order..The Police had, on April 30, registered a First Information Report (FIR) against two accused including Jai Sidh on the complaint made by the local unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).It was alleged in the complaint that the accused by circulating the video had indulged in "wanton vilification" with an intention to malign and provoke rioting and also harm the reputation of Shah."These criminal acts of both will not only affect the result of election but also is a direct attempt to interfere in the conduct of free and fair elections," the complainant, advocate Ranjeet Jamwal, said. A first information report (FIR) was registered under Section 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence) of the Indian Penal Code..Jai Sidh Bhalla's father Raman Bhalla, a former member of legislative assembly in the erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir, is the Congress party's candidate in Jammu Lok Sabha constituency, where polling took place last week.Jai Sidh himself is also a member of the Indian Youth Congress.His counsel before the Court argued that the police had registered a false and frivolous case against him. Seeking pre-arrest bail in the case, the Court was told that the Police were about to arrest him.While granting the interim relief to Jai Sidh, the Court listed the matter for further orders on May 8..Advocates Aseem Kumar Sawhney and Amit Sharma appeared on behalf of the petitioner..Pertinently, the police in Delhi and Assam also have registered FIRs in connection with an alleged doctored video of the Union Home Minister. According to the Indian Express, while a Congress worker was arrested in Assam, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was also summoned by Delhi Police. Reddy's lawyer has reportedly told the Police that the CM had no role in posting or creating the video..[Read Order]