Pune: A court has granted anticipatory bail to advocate Amol Ankush Gavhane in a case registered over a social media post that allegedly featured a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an objectionable caption.The case stems from a complaint filed by advocate Basvaraj Mallikarjun Yatwad, who alleged that he came across a social media on July 21 on an account purportedly belonging to Gavhane. Yatwad alleged that the post had the potential to disturb public peace.Additional sessions judge AV Chaudhari-Inamdar passed the order on Aug 14 in a case registered at Pune’s Cyber police station under sections 336(2), 353(1)(B) and 356(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).Appearing for Gavhane, advocate Milind Pawar submitted that his client had cooperated fully with the investigation and that custodial interrogation was unnecessary. The court noted that Gavhane had complied with a notice issued under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), appeared before the investigating officer and that his cellphone had already been seized while his statement had been recorded.Opposing the plea, the prosecution informed the court that details from the parent company regarding the social media account were still awaited and that efforts were under way to trace the person who had allegedly sent the disputed photograph to Gavhane.The court observed that the investigation officer had not asserted the need for Gavhane’s custodial interrogation. It also took note of the fact that he had no criminal antecedents and held that the remaining aspects of the investigation could be addressed through appropriate bail conditions.Accordingly, the court directed that Gavhane be released on anticipatory bail upon furnishing a personal recognisance bond of Rs 25,000 along with one or two sureties of the like amount.
