A sessions court here on Tuesday ( rejected an anticipatory bail application filed by Mumbai-based filmmaker Avinash Das in a case where he is accused of sharing photos on social media to tarnish the image of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and insulting the national flag. Additional Sessions Judge D D Thakkar rejected Das's pre-arrest bail plea in connection with an FIR lodged against him by the city cyber crime branch in May.
Das had allegedly shared a picture on Instagram on March 17, and another on Twitter on May 8. The photo shared on Twitter purportedly showed Union minister Shah with the arrested IAS officer Puja Singhal.
The crime branch claimed that it was done with the intention to create misunderstanding among people and tarnish Shah's image. A First Information Report was registered against Das under IPC section 469 (forgery) and also under the Prevention of Insult to the National Honour Act and Information Technology Act.
Rejecting Das's plea, the court observed that it appeared that Shah's photo was shared with the intention of defaming him and tarnishing his image, and it clearly suggested "mens rea" (intention/knowledge of wrongdoing). Sharing a photo of a woman with the tricolour showed "mental perverseness," it said. Being a filmmaker, it was the prime duty of the applicant to maintain the dignity of the country and give respect to the national flag as well as the Union Home Minister, the court added.
Das's lawyer argued that Shah's photo with Singhal was taken from a web link and circulated by others and not his client. As to the photo of a woman wearing tricolour, he argued that it was not obscene as claimed.
No case was made out under section 469 of IPC for forgery, the lawyer argued further. Opposing the plea, the public prosecutor said the accused was issued three notices so far and a notice was also served to his wife, but he did not cooperate with the investigation. The Bombay High Court had recently rejected Das's transit anticipatory bail plea.
Singhal, the Jharkhand mining secretary, was recently arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. Das had directed the 2017 film "Anaarkali Of Aarah" starring Swara Bhaskar, Sanjay Mishra and Pankaj Tripathi.
