Gyanvapi Shivling row: Vineet Jindal to appeal against Ratan Lal's bail; 'intent clear'

After DU professor Ratan Lal was granted bail on Saturday, complainant Vineet Jindal announced that he would be filing an appeal against the order of the Tis Hazari Court. Speaking to Republic TV, advocate Vineet Jindal alleged that the 'intent' of the DU professor's remark, which came amidst the sensitive Gyanvapi mosque hearing, was clear and that the Delhi court had disregarded it. 

"The order states that as per the sections, his comment doesn't hurt religious feelings. That 135 crore Hindus can not be represented by a single feeling. If the impact is to be noted, then it should be seen before and after. The court said there is no hatred created, but we can see the outrage both on social media and on the roads, before and after his comment. So I believe that has been ignored," said Jindal. 

"We will challenge this, we are working on it. We have 2 options, we are looking into which will be a better option. A man, being a professor makes such kind of a comment on a matter which is sub-judice. So, we have to note his intent, which is clear through his post and content," he added. 

Advocate to appeal against Ratan Lal's bail order

Vineet Jindal also opined that in recent times, a trend of insulting the Hindu community's feelings, and then playing the 'victim card' had emerged, as was also seen in the arrest of Ratan Lal, and the protests that erupted thereafter.

"We are seeing a new trend, if a man says something against the Hindu community, he becomes a victim, the religion card also comes into play, and claims of being 'targetted' are made. If Hindu people are in majority, that does not mean that it is taken advantage of. If you are a minority, you can't claim you are being targeted just because of that. The case comes down to the legality of your comment. And I believe, Ratan Lal's comment completely falls within the purview of the sections slapped against him. Hence we will appeal against the bail order," said the advocate.

Ratan Lal, who serves as a Professor of History in the Hindu College of Delhi University, had recently taken to his social media account to make offensive remarks against the Shivling that was allegedly found inside the Gyanvapi mosque premises. Shortly after, he was booked under IPC Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295A (deliberate act to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion) and was taken into custody. On Saturday, a Delhi Court granted him bail on a bond of Rs 50,000.