Indore: A day after the Supreme Court granted him ad-interim bail, stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui has been released from Indore jail. Faruqui was among five people arrested on January 2 for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

Upon his release from prison, Munawar Faruqui said, “I would not want to comment about any of this right now. I have absolute faith in our judiciary and our laws. I am sure I will get justice.”

Despite the apex court’s orders, the Indore jail in Madhya Pradesh decided to wait on February 6 before releasing Munawar Faruqui. The stand-up comic was finally released from the jail complex a little after midnight when the SC’s order was received by jail authorities.

Earlier on February 6, the Indore jail authorities said they had not received any orders from the Supreme Court regarding Munawar Faruqui’s release. Jail authorities even went on to add that Faruqui was granted bail in the Madhya Pradesh case but no bail was granted to him in the case lodged against him in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad).

“We have a production warrant that has to be presented in the Prayagraj court by February 18. There is no official communication on the Prayagraj warrant,” a jail official had told media outlets.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Indore received a “call from a judge of the Supreme Court” around midnight resulting in Munawar Faruqui’s release, reported the Indian Express.

After hearing the plea by Faruqui’s lawyer earlier this month, a bench of the Supreme Court had directed that the stand-up comedian be released on a bond of 50,000 rupees.

Munawar Faruqui was arrested on January 1 on the basis of a complaint by the son of a legislator belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party that now rules several states including Madhya Pradesh.

In the complaint, the BJP MLA’s son has alleged that Munawar Faruqui made “objectionable remarks about Hindu deities and Union Home Minister Amit Shah” during a show in Indore on New Year’s Day. Cases along the lines of similar charges were filed against Faruqui in UP’s Prayagraj.Live TV

Source: indiatoday.in