Big victory for Hindus, Ranchi court removes conditions in Richa Bharti case

In a big victory for the Hindu community, the Ranchi Court has removed the condition attached with the bail granted to Richa Bharti. The court, in its revised judgment, ordered that on the advice of the investigating officer, the court has decided to do away with the condition that Richa Bharti must distribute 5 copies of Quran in order to avail bail.

Teenager Richa Bharti was pulled up for a Facebook post on Tabrez Ansari, a Muslim youth who succumbed to his injuries after being attacked by a mob in Jharkhand. She was arrested after a member of Sadar Anjuman Committee filed a complaint against her. The 19-year old girl has reportedly expressed unhappiness over the court order and has also said that she would move the High Court challenging the order passed by the lower court. She said, “I have only shared the Facebook post. The person who posted it should have been arrested first. I will appeal against the court order in the high court. Today I have been asked to distribute Quran and tomorrow I may be asked to accept Islam.” It has been reported that several organisations expressed objection after Bharti’s arrest, with some even taking out protest marches.

Richa Bharti’s lawyer Ramparvesh Singh spoke about the development and said, “Directing her to donate the books within a fortnight in presence of police authorities and submit a compliance report, the court granted bail to Richa on the condition that she would furnish two sureties of Rs 7,000 each.” Richa Bharti has also been asked to submit the receipts of distributed copies to the Court within 15 days.

The judgement had been met with fury on social media with people. The support for Richa Bharti, who bravely refuses to make the donations, has poured in overwhelmingly. Many social media users made their bit count in fundraising and posted screenshots after making donations.

As the outrage over the issue continued, many social media users questioned the apparent invisibility BJP leaders from the discourse. However, the party seems to have extended support to Richa Bharti along with several pro-Hindu organizations. Several leaders of the BJP have also come out in support of the 19-year-old girl and have been meeting her and her family pitching their support. Reportedly, the convener of BJP legal cell in Jharkhand, Vinod Kumar Sahu, also paid a visit to Richa Bharti and assured her of support. Mr. Sahu had pointed out that no official copy of the judgment is available now and further decisions will be taken after the copy is received.

However, the revision of the judgment by the Ranchi court has come as a huge relief to Richa Bharti and a big victory for the Hindu community which had shown unprecedented support for Richa’s right of faith.