May 30, 2019:

Md Karim Khan has been lodged in an Assam jail since April 7, when he was arrested for posting an “obscene” photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Facebook.

On May 24, the Guahati high court rejected his bail plea.

“Prima facie, the accused, through his social networking facebook account, posted most degraded electronic form of post against the Prime Minister of India, subject, of course, to further investigation into the various other material aspects of the whole matter,” quoted Justice Ajit Borthakur as saying.

The court said further investigation may be impaired if Khan is let off.

Across the country, several people have been arrested for expressing their views about political leaders on social media. Just looking at Modi alone, there have been a number of instances of people being arrested – and then languishing in jail – for expressing their criticism. These cases have been criticised for curbing free speech and attempting to intimidate dissenters.

In January this year, for example, Sathiyaraj Balu, a politician from Tamil Nadu, was arrested after he posted a morphed picture of Modi with a begging bowl. In December 2018, Manipuri journalist Kishorechandra Wanghkem was detained under the National Security Act and sentenced to 12 months detention for a video criticising Modi and the state’s BJP government. He was finally released in April 2019, on the Manipur high court’s orders.

In October 2018, a government school teacher in Assam was arrested for posting a ‘derogatory’ comment about the prime minister.

In September 2018, Congress’ chief of communications Divya Spandana was booked for sedition for tweeting a photoshopped picture of Modi showing him painting “chor” (thief) on his own wax statue’s forehead. She shared it using the hashtag “ChorPMChupHai”.

Last November, a youth from Tamil Nadu was arrested for allegedly making abusive comments about the prime minister in a private Facebook conversation.

In June 2017, a Muslim schoolteacher in Assam was arrested after it was found that his WhatsApp profile carried “offensive” photos of Modi.

In October 2016, the target was the owner of a school in Sardhana, Uttar Pradesh. Mudassir Rana was arrested for sharing a Facebook post – without any comment – which was a cartoonish illustration of the faces of Modi, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and several ministers of the BJP, depicted as the ten heads of Ravan.

In June 2014, the principal of a government college in Kerala was arrested for publishing in a college magazine a picture of Modi along with those of Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden and Ajmal Kasab.

According to HuffPost India, the consequences for these people do not end with the charges and arrests. They are often ostracised by supporters of the prime minister and other right-wing groups. “The case is yet to reach the court. Till it is resolved and I am let off the hook, this will hang on my and my family’s head,” Mudassir Rana told the portal.

In most of these cases, the FIRs are filed based on complaints from local BJP activists. Under vague sections of the IPC and other laws like the IT Act, the police then charge the people involved. While the court’s offer reprieve in some cases – like for BJP activist Priyanka Sharma in West Bengal – others, like Md Karim Khan, are not as lucky.

Source HP

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