Overview
- The court refused anticipatory bail for Congress councillor Fauzia Sheikh Alim after hearing evidence, with the judge saying a prima facie case under Section 196(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was made out on Thursday.
- The judge described the alleged conduct as a non-bailable offence that can carry up to three years in prison based on witness statements, video footage, and seized digital material.
- While denying bail, the court ordered police to follow the Supreme Court’s Arnesh Kumar guidelines that require officers to record compelling reasons before arresting people for offences punishable up to seven years.
- Alim denies the allegation and says she was falsely implicated because of political rivalry; another councillor, Rubina Iqbal Khan, is also named in the same police case registered on April 15.
- The case highlights how refusal to sing the national song Vande Mataram has been treated as a criminal matter under laws against promoting enmity, and the next steps to watch are whether police make an arrest and how prosecutors proceed in court.