Recently, Allahabad High Court has refused to cancel criminal proceedings against a man accused of posting objectionable comments against Lord Shiva on social media.

Dismissing a petition filed by one Asif of Aligarh district, Justice JJ Munir observed, "Offences of the kind that have a tendency to promote hatred between classes of people or communities have to be put down with a heavy hand. These offences cannot be permitted to flourish in society by adopting a soft-pedalling approach at the cost of widespread damage to the community." 

The case was that by those comments he had insulted the religious sentiments of the Hindu community. There have been further comments fomenting communal hatred by other co-accused in the comments section of the Facebook account.

After investigation, the police submitted a charge sheet against the applicant on the basis of material collected. Thereafter, the Judicial Magistrate-II of Aligarh took cognizance of the offence and issued summons to the applicant on January 3, 2023.

Aggrieved over it, the applicant challenged the summons and the resultant proceedings through the present application in the high court.