A Mumbai sessions court has rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Santosh Darekar, a 54-year-old resident of Pune, who is accused of sharing an objectionable social media post allegedly targeting Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Kale passed the order on Saturday, holding that there exists a prima facie case against Darekar which cannot be “ignored or overlooked.” The detailed order was made available on Monday.
Darekar was booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for allegedly promoting enmity, hatred, or ill-will between groups on grounds of religion and race, based on a complaint filed by BJP leader Yojna Thokle.
The court observed that while Darekar’s only argument was that his custodial interrogation was not required, that alone could not be a ground for bail. “Custodial interrogation is one of the relevant aspects to be considered along with other grounds while deciding anticipatory bail,” the court stated.
The prosecution, opposing the bail plea, submitted that Darekar had used his mobile phone to disseminate the post and that the device needed to be seized for investigation. It further argued that the offence was grave in nature and punishable with severe penalties.
Rejecting the bail application, the court concluded:
“Having regard to the prima facie material against the accused, nature of offence, and the severity of the punishment, no case is made out by the accused for grant of anticipatory bail.”
Darekar, in his plea, maintained that he had been falsely implicated.
The matter remains under investigation by the Cyber Police.
