The sessions court that granted anticipatory bail to Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi on Tuesday said in its order that the investigating officer had registered the case without watching the interview in which the MLA is alleged to have hurt sentiments by praising Mughal ruler Aurangzeb.
The court also cautioned Azmi, who has been suspended from the ongoing Budget session of the Maharashtra Assembly over the comments, to “exercise restraint” and “understand his responsibility” as a senior politician.
The MLA was granted pre-arrest bail on Tuesday and the detailed order was made available on Thursday.
“The investigation in this matter is at primary stage, therefore it will not be fair to comment upon the interview given by applicant (Azmi). I asked the investigating officer about the video of interview. I was surprised to hear that, investigating officer does not have the video recording of alleged interview till today and he registered offence without seeing that interview,” the court said.
After his comments on Aurangzeb, Azmi faced two FIRs, in Thane and at Marine Drive police station, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections pertaining to hurting religious sentiments, insulting religious beliefs and defamation. The FIRs referred to Azmi’s statements while speaking to reporters on March 3 in the Maharashtra Assembly premises.
“Before parting with this order I would like to caution the applicant to exercise restraint on himself while giving interviews, having regards to prevailing circumstances. Any irresponsible statement can flare riots and create law and order problem. I hope applicant being a senior politician will understand his responsibility,” said Additional Sessions judge V G Raghuwanshi.
Police had opposed Azmi’s pre-arrest bail, with the prosecutor stating that the comments came at a time when the religious sentiments of people are “volatile” after the release of a film.
Story continues below this ad
Azmi, through his lawyer Mubin Solkar, had said that the interview was taken out of context for “political mileage”. He also said that he immediately released a video on March 4 in which he stated he had never said anything wrong against great national personalities, and that if he had said anything wrong, he would withdraw that statement.
“The offence relates to some statements made in the course of interview. That means investigating officer does not need custody for seizure of any article, he does not need custody for interrogation. Applicant is a politician and businessman. Therefore, I don’t think that he will run away from the course of justice. He undertakes to cooperate (wth the) investigating officer and abide by all conditions those may be imposed by this court,” the order said.