Telangana HC orders Raja Singh\'s release, bars provocative speeches

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday ordered the release of suspended Goshamahal BJP MLA Raja Singh, who was arrested in August for allegedly making offensive remarks about Prophet Muhammad, nearly two-and-a-half months after he was detained under the Preventive Detention Act (PDA), and also granted him conditional bail in the case.

While quashing the detention orders against Raja Singh and granting conditional bail, a division bench of the High Court, comprised of Justice Annireddy Abhishek Reddy and Justice Juvvadi Sridevi, barred him from making provocative remarks, making anti-religious speeches, or making derogatory or offensive posts on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Whatsapp, print or electronic media.

Raja Singh was arrested on August 23 for allegedly making objectionable remarks about Prophet Muhammad, and a FIR was filed against him after massive protests erupted in the city, demanding that he be prosecuted. However, he was released on bail on the same day, but on August 25 he was arrested again under the PD Act.

Hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Raja Singh's wife T. Usha Bai through her counsels, who challenged the PDA proceedings against him, the division bench barred the suspended BJP MLA from holding celebratory rallies or meetings upon his release, as well as from addressing the media. No processions, welcome meetings, or celebrations are permitted.

Further, the court ordered that no one else be present inside or outside the jail upon Raja Singh's release, other than his counsel, his wife Usha Bai, and four of his family members.

On Wednesday, the division bench heard lengthy arguments from senior counsel L. Ravichander, who was assisted by Deepak Mishra, Karuna Sagar, and Shashi Kiran's legal team. The bench also heard the arguments of Advocate General B.S. Prasad at length. Senior counsel L. Ravichander stated in his closing arguments that "democracy was not about saying the right things". "Democracy is about the right to be wrong," he argued. He repeatedly told the bench that a government cannot rely on a "fatwa" to conclude that Raja Singh's language referred to "the Prophet". In arguing Raja Singh's case, senior counsel L.Ravichander criticised the government for treating a law and order problem as a “challenge to public order”, as well as the detaining authority for "colourful exercise of law”. The Advocate General, on the other hand, stated that the suspended BJP MLA was a habitual offender and that the one-year preventive detention was not consummate with the actions of the detenue. The High Court ordered Raja Singh's release after hearing arguments from Advocate General B.S. Prasad and counter-arguments from L.Ravichander.