Muslim man spends 15 months in jail over anti-Modi social media posts
Lucknow: A Muslim man has been granted bail after spending nearly 15 months in jail over social media posts critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the country’s armed forces, with the court in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh state ruling that his continued detention was unjustified as the trial had made virtually no progress.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the Allahabad High Court ordered the release of Ashraf Khan, noting that although charges had been framed months earlier, the prosecution had failed to examine even a single witness. Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal held that Khan’s constitutional right to a speedy trial weighed in favor of granting bail.
Khan was arrested in May 2025 after police accused him of uploading edited videos and Facebook posts during the India-Pakistan military confrontation. The prosecution alleged that the posts criticized Modi and the Indian armed forces, praised the Pakistan Air Force and circulated manipulated images involving senior Indian and Pakistani officials.
The same judge had rejected Khan’s earlier bail plea, observing that freedom of expression did not extend to content deemed to undermine constitutional authorities or promote social discord. However, in its latest order, the court held that the prolonged delay in the trial had altered the circumstances, stressing that the right to a speedy trial is a fundamental constitutional guarantee and that continued incarceration without meaningful progress in the case could not be justified.
