The High Court granted pre-arrest bail to Nitin Bode, an insurance agent accused of promoting armed struggle against the Modi government. Bode allegedly circulated an article on WhatsApp with the slogan “Jai Bharat, Jai Samvidhan, Jai Naxalvad.” The bail comes amidst ongoing legal scrutiny over his actions, which were seen as promoting extremist ideology.
Mumbai: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court granted anticipatory bail to a man accused of backing Naxalites. The man allegedly authored an article titled “Bharat Punha Naxalvad Petnar, Desh Vachvinyasathi Sashastra Krantichi Garaj” (Naxalism Rising Again in India, the Need for Armed Revolution to Save the Nation).
The article in question reportedly circulated widely on WhatsApp by the accused, Nitin Bode, who works as an insurance agent. It included the slogan “Jai Bharat, Jai Samvidhan, Jai Naxalvad.”
Assistant Police Inspector Sarang Bompilwar from the Anti-Terrorist Squad in Yavatmal filed a complaint after receiving a letter on June 3, 2024, from the office of the Special Inspector General of Police (Anti-Naxal Operation). The letter alleged that Bode had written the article, which promoted hostility between different groups based on religion, race, birthplace, residence, and language, thus constituting an offense.
As a result of this letter and Bompilwar’s complaint, a First Information Report (FIR) filed under Section 153-A(1)(b) of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR claims that Bode’s article encouraged Indian youth to take up arms.
Additional Public Prosecutor TH Udeshi argued,
“Bode made baseless accusations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and advocated for armed rebellion to protect citizens from the administration.”
Additional Public Prosecutor TH Udeshi argued,
“Bode’s actions were an attempt to provoke and incite the public against the Central Government. He indirectly propagated an advanced ideology of Naxalism through his message, leading to the registration of the offense against him.”
Investigators retrieved Bode’s Call Data Records from 2024, showing he made calls across India, particularly to Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, and they were examining the recipients of these calls. Udeshi further argued that Bode’s phone was necessary for the investigation and that custodial interrogation essential to prevent him from forwarding further inflammatory messages encouraging violence.
After reviewing the case, Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke remarked,
“The facts and circumstances indicate that there was no disruption of law and order, public order, or peace and tranquillity in the area following the circulation of the message. The intention to cause disorder or incite violence is sine qua non (an essential condition) for an offense under Section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code.”
The court also noted from the investigation records that there was no mens rea (criminal intent) on Bode’s part to disturb peace or public order in the region where the message circulated.
Read Also: [PM Modi’s Hate Speech Case] TN Congress Moves Madras HC Over ECI Inaction
Additionally, the offense in question carried a sentence of no more than seven years, and investigators had not followed proper procedure, such as issuing a notice under Section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, nor had they recorded any reasons justifying Bode’s arrest.
The bench instructed Bode to surrender his phone to the investigators and to report to the police station every Sunday until the chargesheet filed.