DU teacher arrested for post on Gyanvapi mosque granted bail by Delhi court

Remarks ‘avoidable’, ‘reprehensible’ but do not promote hatred between communities: Court

The remarks made by Delhi University Associate Professor Ratan Lal, though "avoidable" and "reprehensible", "do not indicate an attempt to promote hatred between communities", a local court in Delhi observed on Saturday while granting him bail a day after he was arrested by Delhi Police.

The 50-year-old history teacher at DU's Hindu College was arrested shortly after he was called in for questioning on Friday. The police said they had booked him on a complaint from an advocate, who said that Mr. Lal's social media post on the Gyanvapi mosque issue had hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community.

In addition to teaching at DU, Mr. Lal runs a YouTube channel called Ambedkarnama, where he discusses and critiques government policies.

While granting him bail on a personal bond of ₹50,000 and one surety of the like amount, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Siddhartha Malik of the Tis Hazari court said, "The feeling of hurt felt by an individual cannot represent the entire group or community and any such complaint regarding hurt feelings has to be seen in its context considering the entire spectrum of facts/circumstances."

Noting that the same remarks can elicit different feelings in different people, Mr. Malik said that while he, as a "proud" Hindu, would call Mr. Lal's post "distasteful" and "unnecessary", others might find it shameful or feel sorry for the accused but not find it inciting hatred or enraging.

The court said, "India is a country of more than 130 crore people and any subject can have 130 crore different views and perceptions."

While arguing his case, counsel appearing for Mr. Lal submitted before the court that his arrest was an example of abuse of law. They argued that as a reputed associate professor of history, Mr. Lal had written an academic post on the disputed structure alleged to have been found at the Gyanvapi mosque in Uttar Pradesh.