"Prima Facie No Act Of Subverting Govt.": Gauhati High Court Grants Bail To Woman Booked For Sedition For Using National Flag As Dining Table Cloth

The bench of Justice Manish Choudhury said:

"It does not prima facie suggest to be an act to have the effect of subverting the Government by bringing that Government into contempt or hatred or creating disaffection against it."

The case in brief

The Court was hearing the bail plea of one Rajina Parbin Sultana booked under Sections 120B/124A, Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 2 of the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act, 1971.

As per the FIR, she had invited some guests to her house for lunch on the occasion of Eid festival and thereafter, a picture had emerged in the social media, Facebook wherefrom it was gathered that the accused-petitioner and few other persons had taken lunch on a dining table where the table cloth resembled the Indian National Flag.

6 persons were named as accused in the FIR stating that they had wilfully dishonoured the Indian National Flag by using the same table cloth on the dining table while taking food across the dining table.

Submissions made before the Court

The counsel for the accused-petitioner submitted that out of the 6 accused persons named in the FIR, 5 of them have already been released on bail.

It was further submitted that even if the accusations made in the FIR are prima facie accepted to be true, the same could not be brought within the purview of the offence under Section 124A, IPC.

On the other hand, the Public Prosecutor had submitted that the accused-petitioner was the host for the lunch which was held in her house.

It is next submitted that there was ample evidence that the accused-petitioner had used a table cloth resembling the Indian National Flag while inviting guests to her house on the occasion of the Eid festival.

Court's order

At the outset, the Court observed that the question whether the accused-petitioner, by her act had, committed the offence under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act, 1971 in any public place or any other place within public view is to be considered on the basis of the materials collected during the course of the investigation and its admissibility during the course of the trial.

"It does not prima facie suggest to be an act to have the affect of subverting the Government by bringing that Government into contempt or hatred or creating disaffection against it. This Court is not expressing any final opinion with regard to the fulfilment of the ingredients of the aforesaid offences," the Court further added.

Therefore, considering the period of detention of the accused-petitioner since May 16, and the progress made in the investigation, the Court was of the view that further custodial detention of the accused-petitioner was not necessary.

Accordingly, it was directed that she be released on bail on furnishing a bail bond of Rs. 20,000/- with one local surety of the like amount.

Case title - Rajina Parbin Sultana And 5 Ors v. State of Assam

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