A district court on Tuesday granted bail to former chief parliamentary secretary and ex-MLA Neeraj Bharti, who was arrested last week in a case of sedition after uploading four Facebook posts on the India-China situation. "There are strong debatable questions involved for attracting the provisions of sections 124-A and 153-A of the IPC for the alleged Facebook posts of the bail applicant," the court observed in the bail order. "This court is not inclined to the submissions made on behalf of the prosecution that in the event of bail, the bail applicant may influence the investigation, as the entire case against him hinges around his alleged Facebook posts, which are in public domain and cannot, by any stretch of imagination, now be tampered with," stated additional sessions judge (CBI) Sharad Kumar in his order. Bharti was arrested by the state CID on the complaint of a Shimla-based advocate, who alleged that he was inciting hatred and treason among the public and soldiers through his posts. "Dissemination of political ideas that do not confirm to the views of the ruling elite and are not incompatible themselves with the principles of democracy cannot be considered themselves as jeopardising the integrity and national security of a country," argued Bharti's counsel during his bail hearing.
