Today, Varanasi Court refused bail to fourteen Muslim men accused of hosting an Iftar gathering on a boat in the river Ganga.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Amit Kumar Yadav rejected the bail pleas, observing that the allegations against the accused were serious and involved non-bailable offences. The court held that, considering the nature of the case, there were no sufficient grounds to grant them bail at this stage.

The case came to light after videos showing the men breaking their fast on a boat went viral on social media, triggering controversy.

An FIR was registered based on a complaint by Rajat Jaiswal, a local office-bearer of the BJYM, who alleged that the act hurt religious sentiments. The complaint also claimed that chicken biryani was consumed on the boat and its remains were thrown into the river.

Initially, the accused were booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including offences related to hurting religious sentiments, promoting enmity, public nuisance, and water pollution, along with Section 24 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

Later, more serious charges were added, including extortion under threat, after boat owners alleged that the men had forcibly taken the vessel. Charges under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act were also invoked.

The fourteen men were remanded to judicial custody on March 19 and have since been lodged in the Varanasi District Jail. They approached the Magistrate’s court seeking bail.

During the hearing, the defence argued that the accused were law-abiding citizens who had been falsely implicated due to personal enmity. It was also contended that no meat was recovered from them and the viral video did not show any such consumption.

Opposing the plea, the prosecution maintained that the allegations were grave and carried punishment of up to ten years’ imprisonment. It also pointed out that the investigation was still ongoing, and an additional FIR had been registered alleging threats to the complainant.

After considering the submissions and the case record, the court concluded that bail could not be granted at this stage.