Kerala High Court grants bail to man accused of insulting Devaswom Minister K Radhakrishnan on Facebook

The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted bail to a man accused of posting a defamatory comment on a Facebook group to insult and defame Devaswom Minister K Radhakrishnan in connection with his visit to Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple..Justice K Babu granted bail under certain conditions including the execution of a ₹2 lakh bond and making a monthly appearance before the investigating officer. The accused man was also ordered to refrain from getting involved in any other offence while on bail..The High Court was considering an appeal challenging a session court's decision to reject the accused man's bail plea. According to the prosecution, the man had made a comment on Facebook replete with abusive words and the caste name of the minister to defame him and create enmity among different groups based on caste and community, thereby disturbing public tranquility.The accused allegedly posted the comment in a Facebook group named ”FFC FAN FIGHT CLUB” along with a photograph of the minister.The accused was charged under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Section 120(o) (causing nuisance by email, writing, etc.) of the Kerala Police Act and Section 3(1)(r)(s) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.The accused man's counsel argued that there was no intention to commit the alleged offences and that the accused had accidentally shared a Facebook post from another group. Additionally, the accused also issued a public apology, the counsel added. Therefore, it was argued that it is doubtful whether the accused had any mens rea (guilty mind) to commit an offence. The prosecution countered that the ingredients of the alleged offences have been made out against the accused. After considering rival submissions, the Court concluded that further detention of the accused man was unnecessary. The accused had been in custody since January 4 when he surrendered. The High Court proceeded to set aside the sessions court order under challenge and allowed the release of the accused on bail. .The accused (appellant) was represented by advocates K Shaj, Beena N Kartha, C Ijlal, Poornima Rajan, Arun Chand, Bharat Vijay P, Majid Muhammed K, Minu Vittorria Paulson, Gopika Gopal, Archana Suresh and Archana PP.The State authorities were represented by Public Prosecutor G Sudheer..[Read Judgment]