Avinash Das had shared a picture of Home Minister Amit Shah and officer Pooja Singhal.
A sessions court here on Tuesday rejected an anticipatory bail plea filed by Mumbai-based filmmaker Avinash Das, where he was accused of sharing photographs on social media for maligning the image of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and insulting the national flag. Additional. Sessions Judge DD Thakkar rejected Das’s pre-arrest bail plea in connection with an FIR lodged against him by the city’s cyber crime branch in May.
Das had reportedly shared a picture on Instagram on March 17 and another on Twitter on May 8. A picture shared on Twitter shows Union Minister Shah with arrested IAS officer Pooja Singhal.
The crime branch claimed that this was done with an intention to create misunderstanding among the people and malign Shah’s image. An FIR was registered against Das under sections 469 (forgery) of the IPC and the Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act and the Information Technology Act.
Dismissing Das’s plea, the court observed that it appears that Shah’s photograph was shared with the intention of defaming him and maligning his image, and that it was clearly “mens re” (wrongful intent). /knowledge) suggests. Sharing a picture of a woman with the tricolour shows “mental deformity”. The court said that being a film producer, it was the main duty of the applicant to maintain the dignity of the country and to respect the national flag as well as the Union Home Minister.
Das’s counsel argued that Shah’s picture with Singhal was taken from a web link and circulated by others and not his client. With regard to the photograph of a woman wearing the tricolour, he argued that it was not obscene as claimed.
The counsel further argued that no case was made out under section 469 of IPC for forgery. Opposing the plea, the Public Prosecutor said that so far three notices had been issued to the accused and his wife had also been served, but she did not cooperate in the investigation. The Bombay High Court had recently rejected Das’s transit anticipatory bail plea.
Jharkhand’s mining secretary Singhal was recently arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. Das directed the 2017 film “Anarkali of Aarah” starring Swara Bhaskar, Sanjay Mishra and Pankaj Tripathi.