The Allahabad High Court has recently granted bail to Tahir Mewati, a resident of Bulandshahr, who faced accusations of posting anti-India and pro-Pakistan content on Facebook. This decision was rendered by a bench led by Justice Rajiv Lochan Shukla on May 25, following the review of Mewati’s bail application.
Prosecutors argued that Mewati used his Facebook account to disseminate visuals and captions perceived as defamatory towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while simultaneously promoting sentiments supportive of Pakistan. Among the evidence presented were screenshots allegedly depicting Prime Minister Modi in a derogatory manner, such as images showing him tied up and dragged by former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Captions accompanying these visuals included phrases like “Modi Maafi Maangta Hai,” along with other Urdu text thought to endorse Pakistan.
The prosecution fortified its case by presenting digital evidence linking Mewati to the Facebook account in question. This included the recovery of a mobile phone purportedly used to access the account, IP address logs traced back to Mewati’s residence, as well as linked email IDs, phone numbers, metadata, and login timestamps.
Mewati defended himself by asserting that the Facebook account was fraudulent, created by unknown individuals to tarnish his reputation. He maintained that he had no connection to the controversial posts.
After evaluating the arguments from both sides, the High Court decided to grant bail to Mewati. He was represented by a team of advocates including Adarsh Srivastava, Reena Pal, Mirza Shahwan Beg, and Mohsin Ahmad.
