MP High Court Grants Bail to Men Arrested for Instagram Reel Supporting Iran

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has granted bail to two Muslim men arrested for posting an Instagram reel expressing support for Iran.

The Court held that merely expressing solidarity with a foreign nation during a conflict does not amount to “promoting enmity between different groups” under Section 196(1)(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

It noted that the FIR was registered without sufficient material to substantiate the offence.

Clarifying the legal position, the Court said that expressing views or protest in favour of a foreign country does not, by itself, violate laws relating to communal harmony.

[Wasim Khan & Ors. v. The State of Madhya Pradesh]