Supreme Court grants anticipatory bail in the Kerala You tuber case who was accused of promoting feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will against the members of Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes.

Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 625

Cause Title:    SHAJAN SKARIA VS. THE STATE OF KERALA

Case Number: CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 2622 OF 2024 (ARISING OUT OF SLP (CRL.) NO. 8081 OF 2023)

Judgment Date: August 23, 2024

Quorum/Bench: Hon'ble Justice J.B. Pardiwala, and Hon'ble Justice Manoj Misra

The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 did not contain any specific provision analogous to Section 438 of the CrPC. In Amir Chand v. The Crown, reported in 1949 SCC OnLine Punj 20, the question before the Full Bench was whether Section 498 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898 empowered the High Court or the Sessions Court to grant bail to a person who had not been placed under restraint by arrest or otherwise.(para 03)

 In the present case the SC noted that , there is nothing to even prima facie indicate that the appellant by publishing the video on YouTube promoted or attempted to promote feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will against the members of Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. The video has nothing to do in general with the members of Scheduled Caste or the Scheduled Tribe. His target was just the complainant alone. The offence under Section 3(1)(u) will come into play only when any person is trying to promote ill feeling or enmity against the members of the scheduled castes or scheduled tribes as a group and not as individuals

Decision of the Judgment

The Supreme Court held that the impugned order passed by the High Court is  set aside. And in the event of arrest of the appellant by police in connection with the First Information Report No. 899 of 2023 lodged at the Elamakkara Police Station, he shall be released on bail subject to terms and conditions

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