Kerala High Court Grants Bail To Ex- MLA PC George In Hate Speech Cases

The Kerala High Court on Friday granted bail to Ex- MLA PC George in hate speech cases.

Justice Gopinath has allowed the petitions filed by P.C George with respect to two cases registered by Kerala Police, for alleged anti-Muslim statements made at two separate events held at Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam respectively.

George was arrested by the police on Wednesday and was remanded to 14-day judicial custody by the Magistrate yesterday, after his bail granted in the first case was cancelled on the ground that his statements in Ernakulam against Muslim community resulted in violation of the bail condition that he should refrain from communal remarks.

Senior Advocate P Vijayabhanu, appearing of George, submitted that if the speeaches are taken collectively, no offence is made out, and the cases have been registered by selectively quoting bits and pieces from the statements.

Director General of Prosecution TA Shaji opposed the grant of bail. He submitted that the petitioner has no "respect for law" as he violated the bail condition. The provocative statements made by the petitioner tend to disrupt communal harmony. He added that the the custody of the petitioner is necessary for the purposes of investigation as the voice sample of the petitioner is to be collected and the question as to whether the petitioner had committed the offences as part of a larger conspiracy is also to be investigated. If at all the petitioner is to be granted bail, it should be on sufficient safe guards to ensure that the investigation is not tampered with in any manner and also that the petitioner will not indulge in similar offences in future.

The Court took into account the age of the petitioner (72 years), the fact that he was an MLA for over 30 years and that the offences are punishable with a maximum term of 3 years.

 "The petitioner is to be released on bail subject to the condition that he shall not make any speech or statement which shall result in commission of any offence under 153A or 295A of the IPC. If the petitioner violates any of the conditions, it is open to the prosecution to move this court to cancel his bail,"Justice Gopinath ordered. 

"The fact that the petitioner is a 72 year old man stated to be suffering from various illnesses and the fact that he was a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly for nearly 33 years also compels me to take the view that he is not likely to free from justice. Accordingly, these applications for bail are allowed", the bench observed.

The Court granted regular bail with respect to the case on Thiruvananthapuram speech and granted anticipatory bail with respect to the case on Ernakulam speech.

The first case pertains to a speech delivered at a program organized as part of the Ananthapuri Hindu Maha Sammelan, where he alleged that tea adulterated with drugs was sold to non-Muslims in Muslim-run restaurants to turn people infertile in a bid to seize control of the country. The former MLA had also urged the audience to boycott institutions and restaurants run by Muslims.

The second case was where he delivered an offensive speech at the closing ceremony of an event at a temple in Ernakulam, making statements that allegedly promoted enmity between different religions. It has been further alleged that this speech was made deliberately and maliciously with an intent to outrage the religious beliefs of the Muslim community.

On May 1, the Thiruvananthapuram police arrested him. He was granted bail the same day by the Magistrate in the case. One of the bail condition was that he should not make communal statements.

After his release, George made communal remarks at an event held in Ernakulam district. Taking note of this, the prosecution moved for cancelling his bail citing violation of the bail condition.

Case Title: P.C. George v. State of Kerala.

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 247

Click here to read/download the order