Indore Central Jail superintendent Rakesh Bhangare, who had all evening said they couldn’t release Munawar until they got a certified copy of the SC stay on his production warrant in a case in Prayagraj, finally confirmed his release after midnight.
“We got a call from the Supreme Court telling us that the order is uploaded on the website. We were told to check the order and release Faruqui,” he said, adding that Munawar left the prison “in the vehicle of a city SP around 11pm”. He had CCTV grabs to prove it, he said.
Mediapersons standing at the jail’s main gates till 12.30am had not seen any such vehicle, leading to speculation that he may have been taken out by another gate.
Earlier in the evening, jail officials had said Faruqui might be “transferred to UP” as there was a production warrant for him in the Prayagraj case – despite the fact that the warrant had been stayed by SC.
“Faruqui has been released by an Indore court in the local case. But we have a production warrant issued by a Prayagraj court, asking us to produce him there before February 18. We have not officially received any stay order on the warrant,” Indore Central Jail superintendent Rakesh Bhangre said.
On Saturday, his lawyers submitted a certified copy of the SC bail order in the court of chief judicial magistrate Aman Singh Bhuria around 1pm. They furnished the bail bond, got the release order in the post-lunch session, and headed for the prison with it, only to run into a wall.
The administration’s move to stonewall the comedian’s release had left his lawyers bewildered and his family members — who were on vigil outside the prison — on tenterhooks. They spent all of Saturday waiting for the jail doors to open and Faruqui — who was arrested on New Year’s Day on allegations of hurting religious sentiments — to walk out.
Senior advocate Vivek Tankha, who represented Faruqui for bail in MP HC, told TOI, “The jailor can’t do that (withhold release) once the SC has stayed the production warrant. The advocate on record can inform SC and begin contempt procedure against the jailor and authorities. All such persons should be punished for not respecting SC order.”
Former deputy advocate general Abhinav Dhanodkar said, “Once SC has stayed all production warrants while granting interim bail, the jailor has no authority to restrain the accused. He can’t deny his release. This is because Right to Life and Liberty is a Fundamental Right enshrined in Constitution.” Advocate Sourav Kripal, who had argued Munawar’s bail plea in SC, said, “The jailor has no authority to do this. He is nobody to sit on an SC order.”
Asked if it was a matter of contempt, Kripal said: “I’m not aware of the entire matter. I was engaged in arguing the case before SC. His lawyers will look into it.”
“Our family is hurt,” said Faruqui’s cousin Zaid Pathan on Saturday, as the wait at the prison gates dragged on. “He has spent 35 days in prison. You can understand what the family is going through. He had to fight till SC to get the justice he deserved. We’re and hurt that jail authorities are refusing to release him.”
“People’s confidence, our confidence, in the judicial system had grown stronger after the SC order,” he said, adding that the family was waiting for lawyers to decide the next course of action.