Bulli Bai App Case: Delhi Court Denies Anticipatory Bail To Vishal Jha, Says Conduct Against 'Constitutional Ethos Of Secularism'

A Delhi Court has denied anticipatory bail to Vishal Jha in connection with the Bulli Bai App case observing that the conduct of the accused persons in the matter is "against the ever cherished constitutional ethos of secularism & fraternity ensuring dignity of any individual and modesty of a woman."

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana rejected the anticipatory bail moved by Jha and observed thus:

"Accused Neeraj Bishnoi in cahoots with the applicant and other co- accused persons has developed the scandalous bulli bai app. The conduct of the accused persons in the instant case is against the ever cherished constitutional ethos of secularism and fraternity ensuring the dignity of any individual and modesty of a woman."

"…in the case at hand, the allegations against the applicant are graver in nature as it is a direct onslaught upon the dignity and modesty of the woman of a particular community."

Jha, was arrested on January 4 in the case. He and two others are booked under sections 154(A), 153(B), 295(A), 509, 500 and 354(D) of IPC and Section 67 of the IT Act.

Originally from Patna in Bihar, Jha claims that he has been falsely implicated in the case, is not a flight risk, and even otherwise, is accused of merely following the Bulli Bai App.

An FIR has also been registered against Jha by the Mumbai Police. Jha had approached a Sessions Court in Mumbai seeking bail after a Metropolitan Magistrate's court rejected his bail application.

The Bulli Bai App is similar to the 'Sulli Deals' which also resulted in a controversy last year by offering 'sullis', a derogatory word trolls would use for Muslim women. GitHub was also the host for that App.

The FIR was registered against relevant handles and the developer of Bulli Bai for offences under Sections 153A (promoting enmity on grounds of religion etc), 153B (imputations prejudicial to national-integration), 295A (insulting religious beliefs), 354D (stalking), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 500 (criminal defamation) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of Information Technology Act.

The case came to the fore after innumerable prominent Muslim women found themselves up for auction on the App hosted by GitHub. Many women found that their doctored images were put up on the App for "auction."

The women included prominent journalists, social activists and lawyers.

According to an NDTV report, the lady was handling three accounts in the Bulli Bai App. Jha opened an account called Khalsa Supremacist, apparently to make it look like this was a Khalistani attack. Then, on December 31, he changed the names of the accounts to make them sound like they allegedly belonged to a particular community.

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