A Kerala Court on Monday refused to grant bail to BJP leader PC George in a hate speech case registered against him after he made derogatory statements against the Muslim community..The Kerala High Court had last week declined to grant him anticipatory bail following which George surrendered before the police. He subsequently moved the Erattupetta Judicial First Class Magistrate Court for bail. However, the Court refused to grant him bail and remanded him to police custody for 14 days.Detailed order copy awaited..The case stems from a televised debate aired on Janam TV on January 5 in which George stated that all Muslims in India were terrorists and communalists and that there was not a single Muslim in India who was not a terrorist. He also seemingly urged Muslims to migrate to Pakistan and referred to them as "beggars."A complaint was filed by the Muslim Youth League Municipal Committee, following which the police registered a first information report (FIR) against him under Sections 196(1)(a) (promoting enmity on religious, racial, or linguistic grounds) and 299 (malicious acts to outrage religious feelings) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), along with Section 120(o) (Powers to deal with unlawful assemblies) of the Kerala Police Act.The incident sparked widespread criticism, leading George to issue a public apology on social media..George first moved an anticipatory bail plea before a Sessions Court in Kottayam. However, the trial court dismissed his plea observing that he had violated the conditions set by the High Court while granting bail to him in another hate speech case. In that case, the High Court had directed George to not make any such statements while out on bail, failing which his bail could be cancelled. His plea before the High Court for anticipatory bail in the present case was rejected last week with Justice PV Kunhikrishnan criticising the trend of politicians resorting to such provocative statements in a secular nation. .While the police had attempted to arrest George from his residence earlier, George surrendered before the Magistrate Court today following which he was remanded to police custody.
