DELHI HC DENIES BAIL TO FOUR ACCUSED WHO ALLEGEDLY DEFILED AMBEDKAR STATUE

The Delhi High Court has recently denied bail to four people, including a woman, who had allegedly defiled the statue of ‘Baba Sahab’ Bhim Rao Ambedkar on the occasion of Independence Day.

Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri dismissed the bail pleas filed by the three men and one woman accused of defiling the statue BR Ambedkar. “The ingredients of offence under section 3(1)(r) of the SC/ST Act [earlier Section 3(1)(x) of the SC/ST Act] are intentional insult or intimidation with intent to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe and the incident ought to have occurred in ‘public view’, “ the court noted.

The prosecution told the court that the victims had gone to the place of incident to hoist the national flag on the occasion of Independence Day. “However, the accused prevented the victims from hoisting the flag, outraged the modesty of certain women, hurled caste-specific abuses, defiled the statue of Baba Sahab Shri Bhim Rao Ambedkar installed in the plot and caused injuries to the victims,” the prosecution said.

The alleged incident is further stated to have occurred in a place that was open to public view, where members of the public were also present.

“Keeping in view the aforesaid, I found no ground to admit the applicants on bail. The bail applications are accordingly dismissed as not maintainable, “ the court said.

Four people moved bail applications under section 438 Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) on behalf of the applicants seeking anticipatory bail in FIR registered under sections 3(I)(II)(III) and 3(1)(x) of the SC/ST Act and Sections 323/341/ 354/509/147/148/34 Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Police Station Govind Puri, Delhi..