In a case where social media influencer and YouTuber, Ajeet Bharti is accused of making ‘caste related comments’ on social media, a court in Delhi has rejected his anticipatory bail plea, stating that the occurrence of the alleged offences under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, were made out on a prima facie basis.
The order was passed by Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Partap Singh Laler of Patiala House Courts in the course of eradication of the application by Bharti in context of an FIR registered against him at the North Avenue police station on September 7.
The court noted the ingredients of the offence under Section 3(1) (r) of the SC/ST Act which were put on record, prima facie. It went on to record that the statutory bar under Section 18 of the Act was being bar in favour of the court.
The incident happened in relation to his alleged speech in one of the programmes aired on YouTube and on Bharti’s X verified account. The complainant stated that the remarks in the programme were derogatory, humiliating and casteist which are directed against the complainant who belongs to the Scheduled Caste community.
Bharti had contended that it didn’t amount to an offence under the SC/ST Act. His representatives lawyers responded that it should be considered in all its context and emphasized that the complainant was not there in person when the alleged comments were made.
The applicant also submitted that it was not necessary to resort to custodial interrogation as the facts relied by the prosecution were already in the public domain and no further recovery, and no discovery was likely to be gained.
The court, however, denied the anticipatory bail plea on the ground that the provisions of the SC/ST Act required to be satisfied at the prima facie level were attracted at that stage.