Jharkhand lynching: No interim relief for trio who uploaded video on Tik Tok

In the anticipatory bail plea, the men claimed that in the video, on the basis of which the FIR was filed, the audio used by them was uploaded by the social media application Tik Tok. “Thereby (the application) gave a medium and asked its users to make video on the same. Already innumerable people had made a Tik Tok video through the said audio, however, the present applicants have been made scapegoat of the same… leaving the application clean and free,” the plea states.

The plea, filed through advocates Ali Kaashif Khan and Nisha Arora, further states that the men have, in the past, uploaded several videos promoting religious harmony and peace and this has been “willingly suppressed” by the complainant. They added that they have deleted the video and tendered an apology nonetheless. The men are among the most-followed on Tik Tok in India.

On Friday, the court directed the Cyber police to file a reply to the bail plea and adjourned the hearing for the next week. It, however, rejected their plea seeking interim protection.

The complainant, in the case, was filed through a police personnel of Cyber police station, which claimed that in the backdrop of the incident of lynching in Jharkhand last month, a video was circulated on social media “disturbing the peace and harmony of society”. The police are likely to reply to the plea next week after which the court will consider whether or not to grant them anticipatory bail.