Delhi University professor Ratan Lal arrested in the Shivling remark case has been granted bail

Ratan Lal, an associate professor at Delhi University’s Hindu College, was arrested on Friday night for allegedly posting an objectionable post on social media over claims that a Shivling was found in Varanasi’s Gyanvapi Masjid premises.

According to the police, Associate Professor Ratan Lal has been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, caste, place of birth, residence, language etc.) and 295A (religious acts of any class by insulting religion). Cyber ​​police arrested

Professor Ratan Lal was produced in Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court on Saturday. During the hearing, the court had reserved the order on the bail plea or judicial custody of Professor Ratan Lal. Thereafter, the court granted him bail on a surety of Rs 50,000 and surety guarantee of the same amount.

An FIR was registered against History Professor Ratan Lal on the night of 17 May on the basis of a complaint by a Delhi-based lawyer.

In his complaint, advocate Vineet Jindal had said that Ratan Lal had shared “derogatory, provocative and provocative tweets about Shivling”.

He had said in his complaint that the statement (of Ratan Lal) was posted on the issue of Shivling found in the Gyanvapi Masjid premises, though it is a very sensitive subject and the matter is pending in the court.

After the FIR was registered, Associate Professor Lal had said, ‘In India, if you say something, the sentiments of a person or others will be hurt. So, there is nothing new in this. I am a historian and have made many observations. I used very restrained language in my post while writing them, but it happened nonetheless. I will defend myself.

The screenshot of Ratan Lal’s tweet shows that he had posted a picture of a ‘Shivling’ purportedly discovered in the Gyanvapi Masjid complex and sarcastically questioned the authenticity of the find.

The apex court had on May 17 directed the district magistrate of Varanasi to secure the area inside the Shringar Gauri complex at the Gyanvapi mosque near the Kashi Vishwanath temple, where a ‘Shivling’ was found during a survey. has claimed. Along with this, it was also instructed to allow Muslims to offer ‘Namaz’.

However, the Muslim side has denied the claim of getting Shivling. Syed Mohammad Yasin, joint secretary of the Anjuman Inazaniya Masjid Committee, which maintains the Gyanvapi Masjid, said that all the mosques built during the Mughal period, used to have a fountain installed in the worship of all of them. He said that like other mosques, a green stone was installed in the fountain of Gyanvapi Masjid, which is being told as Shivling.

Earlier, on May 12, a local court in Varanasi had directed the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex to conduct a videography survey and submit its report in the court on May 17.