Prayagraj, Feb 10 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has stayed the arrest of a school teacher accused of attending a meeting where attendees were incited to disrespect Hindu religious symbols and desecrate temples by striking them with footwear.

Hearing a writ petition filed by Bhisham Pal Singh, a division bench comprising Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Prashant Kumar directed the Uttar Pradesh government to file a counter affidavit within six weeks.

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Singh was booked under Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) in the Gorakhpur district.

According to the FIR, the informant saw a viral video where a woman allegedly made derogatory remarks against Hindu deities and incited individuals present in the meeting to disrespect Hindu religious symbols and desecrate temples by striking them with footwear.

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It further stated that such remarks hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus and could create communal disharmony.

While challenging the impugned FIR, the petitioner moved the high court, contending that the allegations against him were baseless and politically motivated as he had no involvement in making derogatory remarks or inciting communal disharmony.

The petitioner's counsel argued that the petitioner was merely present at the meeting and did not participate in any unlawful activities.

It was further submitted that the informant herself has multiple FIRs registered against her in the past for disturbing public peace, indicating a pattern of filing frivolous complaints.

In light of these circumstances, he prayed for the quashing of the FIR and protection from any coercive action by the police.

Noting that the matter required consideration, the court issued notice to the informant and granted liberty to all the respondents, including the state government, to file a counter-affidavit within six weeks.

As an interim measure, the court in its February 7 order provided that till the next date of listing or till the submission of a police report, whichever is earlier, the petitioner shall not be arrested, subject to cooperation in the ongoing investigation.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)