The Madhya Pradesh High Court granted bail to a college lecturer, Dr. Nasheem Bano, arrested for allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments by sharing a video after the Pahalgam terror attack. The court said forwarding a message alone can’t justify indefinite jail.
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Jabalpur: The Madhya Pradesh High Court granted bail to Dr. Nasheem Bano, a college lecturer who was arrested on April 28 for sharing a controversial video on WhatsApp after the Pahalgam terror attack. She was accused of hurting Hindu religious sentiments by posting a status and forwarding a video in a college WhatsApp group.
Dr. Bano worked as Guest Faculty at Government Model College in Dindori. She was booked under Sections 196 and 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). These sections relate to promoting enmity between groups and deliberately insulting religious beliefs.
According to the complaint, a few days after the Pahalgam incident, Dr. Bano uploaded a WhatsApp status mentioning that Hindus were being killed after being identified by name, and Muslims were being forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
She also forwarded a video titled ‘Naya Rawan’ in the official WhatsApp group of her college.
She was denied bail by the trial court on April 30, after which she approached the High Court. Her lawyers argued that she is a well-educated woman, and there was no intention to hurt religious sentiments. They also highlighted her professional background and cooperation with authorities.
The State Government, however, opposed the bail, saying Dr. Bano had intentionally forwarded messages and videos to provoke religious unrest.
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After reviewing the case, Justice Avanindra Kumar Singh of the Madhya Pradesh High Court granted her bail, stating that forwarding a message alone does not justify long-term imprisonment.
The Court said:
“Prima facie at the outset it can very safely said that an educated persons and persons, who are holding post of Guest Faculty in the College had greater responsibility to forward WhatsApp messages, but simply on the ground of forwarding messages, video which may hurt the religious sentiment of community, a person cannot be indefinitely kept in jail.”
The Court further ordered:
“It is directed that applicant-Dr. Nasheem Bano shall be released on bail on her furnishing a personal bond in a sum of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand Only) with one solvent surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the trial Court concerned for her appearance before the said Court on all such dates as may be fixed by that Court in this regard during the pendency of trial.”
The case highlights the legal tension between freedom of expression and responsibility in the digital age, especially regarding religious matters.
Senior Advocate Manish Datt, along with Advocate Eshaan Datt, appeared for Dr. Bano
Government Advocate Ravindra Shukla represented the State.
CASE TITLE:
Dr Nasheem Bano vs The State of Madhya Pradesh.
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