The Madhya Pradesh High Court has declined to quash an FIR against Mohammad Bilal, who was accused of posting objectionable content on Instagram against Lord Ram, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Hinduism. The plea was dismissed by Justice GS Ahluwalia, who pointed out inconsistencies in Bilal’s defense, leading to the court’s decision to uphold the charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Bilal, who faced legal action for the content posted in August 2023, claimed his account was hacked, leading to the unauthorized upload of the controversial post. However, his interactions with the complainant raised doubts about this claim. According to the court’s findings, Bilal failed to convincingly explain the situation and instead engaged in behavior that was deemed offensive and abusive toward the complainant, further complicating his case.
Justice Ahluwalia noted that Bilal’s initial reaction to the accusations did not support his hacking defense, implying an admission to the post’s existence and content. The court stated, “This conduct of the petitioner indicates that the defense of uploading the offensive post on his Instagram account by somebody else is incorrect.”
