Allahabad HC dismisses bail plea for WhatsApp group admin

The Allahabad High Court has dismissed the bail plea of the administrator of a WhatsApp group which allegedly shared jihadi literature through it.

Justice Pankaj Bhatia dismissed the bail application filed by Inamul Haq against whom an FIR was registered at the Deoband police station of Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur under Section 121-A (waging war against the Government of India) and 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) of the IPC.

The WhatsApp group allegedly had 181 members: 170 from Pakistan, three from Afghanistan, one each from Malaysia and Bangladesh, and six from India. It was alleged that Inamul admitted that he was associated with the Lashkar group.

The court observed on Wednesday: “The applicant was the administrator of two WhatsApp groups comprising mainly foreign citizens and the said group was allegedly promoting the acquisition of arms and promoting the group on the basis of religious prejudices.”