Orissa HC grants bail to man accused of portraying former CJI Bobde as Naxalite for refusing to allow Rath Yatra

Read Order: Mukesh Jain v. State of Odisha 

LE Staff

New Delhi, July 13, 2021: The Orissa High Court has granted bail to a person accused of circulating messages on WhatsApp urging people to join him in assaulting former CJI SA Bobde with shoes, for denying permission to carry out the Rath Yatra in 2020. 

A Bench of Justice SK Panigrahi granted bail to the accused after considering the fact that he was released on bail by an order of the High Court in 2020 as well as the length of his detention in custody. 

The Bench, however, imposed strict bail terms and conditions, saying the accused shall cooperate with the investigation as and when required by the Investigating Officer and he shall not indulge in any criminal activities in future. Directing that the petitioner shall not misuse the liberty granted to him, the High Court asked him to remain present before the trial court on each date of hearing of the case till its conclusion. 

As per the background of the case, it was alleged that when the Apex Court Bench headed by former Chief Justice of India S A Bobde refused to give permission for observance of the Rath Yatra at Puri in 2020, the accused — National Chairman of Dharma Rakshyak Shri Dara Sena — uploaded a message in a WhatsApp group urging people to join him on a mission to assault the former CJI with shoes. 

Portraying the former CJI as a Naxalite and a Christian terrorist, the accused claimed that Bobde was solely responsible for halting the Rath Yatra and aggrieving Hindu sentiments. 

The Petitioner was charged with offences u/s 153, 153A, 153B, 295A, 504, 505 and 506 of the IPC and Section 66F of the IT Act, 2008.