Kerala High Court Grants Anticipatory Bail To BJP General Secretary Of Lakshadweep Accused Of Holding National Flag With 'Saffron Down'

The Kerala High Court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to the BJP State General Secretary of Lakshadweep accused of insulting the national flag by holding it with 'saffron down'.

Mohammed Kasim HK has been booked under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honours Act, 1971. 

Justice Viju Abraham granted pre-arrest bail on noting that custodial interrogation of the petitioner may not be necessary, considering the nature of allegations. 

The prosecution relied on a photograph circulated via Whatsapp where Kasim is seen holding the Indian National Flag with the 'saffron down'.

Counsels for the petitioner, Advocates Ajit G. Anjarlekar, G.P. Shinod, Govind Padmanaabhan, and Atul Mathews, contended that no offence under the said provision would lie against the petitioner for the reason that the exhibition of the flag was not at any public place, but within the precincts of his own house in Calicut.

It was submitted that the petitioner and his wife had taken the pictures as part of the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' of the Government, and it was in one of the two photographs that the petitioner had held the National flag with the 'saffron down' by mistake.

The pictures were posted in a restricted Whatsapp group comprising BJP members from Lakshadweep, from where someone had forwarded the said photograph alone to various WhatsApp groups in Lakshadweep.

The counsels submitted that as soon as the petitioner realized his inadvertent mistake, he issued a public apology by stating that the national flag was not held with "saffron down" with an intention to disrespect the Indian National Flag, but was occasioned only due to an inadvertent, unintentional and bona fide mistake.

The plea was opposed by the Standing Counsel for Lakshadweep Administration who stated that the petitioner was involved in five other criminal cases.

The Court deemed it fit to allow the application, albeit subject to certain stringent conditions. 

The petitioner has been directed to surrender before the investigating officer on 29th and subject himself for interrogation on that day. In the event of arrest, he shall directed to be produced before the jurisdictional magistrate on the very same day, and be released on bail.

The bail shall be subject to executing bond for a sum of Rs.50,000/- with two solvent sureties each for the like-sum to the satisfaction of the court.

The respondents were represented by Advocate Sajith Kumar V., the Standing Counsel for Lakshadweep Administration.

Case Title: Mohammed Kasim H.K. v. Union Territory of Lakshadweep & Anr. 

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 447

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