India’s top court has granted interim bail to a Muslim stand-up comedian who was jailed for more than a month over jokes he did not tell, but was “going to”.
The comedian, 30-year-old Munawar Faruqui, was arrested on January 1 following a complaint by the son of a politician from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The complainant alleged Faruqui had made objectionable remarks about Hindu deities and the powerful home minister, Amit Shah, during a show at a cafe in the city of Indore.
Stand-up comedy has become hugely popular in India in recent years but some comedians have been criticised for poking fun at Modi’s Hindu nationalist party and its policies.
In his plea, Faruqui said police did not conduct investigations or collect any evidence before arresting him.
Indore police initially claimed “objectionable comments” were made against Hindu deities at the comedy event.
Later, the city’s superintendent of police, Vijay Khatri, told Article 14, an Indian news website, that Faruqui had not made the jokes during a performance but was “going to”.
On Friday, a Supreme Court bench said the allegations against Faruqui were vague and granted him interim bail.
Faruqui was not immediately available for comment.
Last month, creators of a show on Amazon’s streaming platform were charged with offending religious sentiments.
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