Kerala

Kerala HC grants PC George interim relief in hate speech case

Written by : TNM Staff

The Kerala High Court on Monday, May 23, granted interim bail to senior politician PC George till Thursday (May 26), on the condition that he should not make any communal statements in the public or to the media. George was earlier denied anticipatory bail by the Ernakulam District and Sessions Court, in connection with a second hate speech case registered against him within a span of one month.

When senior advocate P Vijaybhanu, who appeared for the politician, pointed out that George was a septuagenarian and was fearing arrest, the judge said that while he “can grant an interim protection, but how will I ensure you don't open your mouth?” Hearing the petition, Justice P Gopinath said that George was granted interim bail till Thursday on the condition that he should not make any communal statements either to the public or to the media.

“It is clarified that the grant of interim bail in this matter will not in any manner affect the right of the state to seek cancellation of the bail granted to him by the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court (JFCM), Trivandrum,” the court said. George was arrested and granted conditional bail by the Thiruvananthapuram court on May 1.

He was arrested for addressing a programme organised as part of the Ananthapuri Hindu Maha Sammelan, where he alleged that tea laced with "drops causing impotence" was sold in Muslim-run restaurants to turn people "infertile" in a bid to "seize control" of the country, a claim that has previously been debunked as false. However, soon after being released on bail, George defended his controversial remarks and claimed that his arrest was Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s “Ramadan gift for terrorist Muslims.”

Out on bail in this case, George made a similar speech in Kochi on May 8. When the Kochi City Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju said that George will be arrested as he has committed the same crime again, in a violation of bail conditions, George approached the Ernakulam District and Sessions Court seeking anticipatory bail, which was dismissed. Following this, he moved the High Court.

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