Ranchi court directs girl to distribute copies of Quran as bail condition; 'not fair' she says

In a strange decision, a local court here on Tuesday directed a student to distribute five copies of Quran to different Muslim institutions as a condition for bail for allegedly posting communal comments on social media.

The civil court magistrate Manish Singh, while granting bail, also directed Richa Bharti to donate a copy of the holy book to Anjuman Islamia Committee at Pithoria and to other four schools and colleges.

"As a condition, the student will have to distribute five Qurans. She will have to give a copy to Anjuman Islamia Committee which falls under Pithoria police station. She will have to get a receiving copy and submit it in the court within 15 days," advocate Pravesh Singh told ANI.

While the court's directive has left everyone surprised, the student expressed her dissatisfaction over the court's order.

Talking to ANI, Bharti said: "Though I respect the court, I am not satisfied with the court's decision. I will have to go to a mosque to distribute the Quran for a normal post. There is no wrong in writing about my God."

She denied the allegations that she hurt anyone's sentiments.

"I did not write the post. I got it from somewhere and just cut it and pasted. People from other communities post such things but they were never told to distribute Hanuman Chalisa. This is not fair," she said.

The court's directive has evoked a sharp reaction in the society, especially from among the Hindu right groups.

Hindu Jagran Manch leader Swami Divyanand said it has been done as part of a "conspiracy".

"People post such and even more objectionable comments on Facebook on a daily basis. Even gods and goddesses of Hindus are insulted but no controversy is created. This has been done as a part of some conspiracy," he said.

BJP leader Pratul Shahdev said: "This is a strange judgment. I have not read the judgment yet. But as it is being reported in media, I have not heard anything of this kind in the history of India."

The student was arrest after a case was registered against her for posting objectionable comments on Facebook on July 12.