Kerala politician P C George on Saturday suffered a jolt as a lower court in Kochi dismissed his anticipatory bail plea in a hate speech case. The Kerala Janapaksham chairman and a former seven-time MLA is already out on bail in a similar case.
The Ernakulam District and Sessions Court dismissed the bail plea moved by George fearing arrest after Kochi City Police Commissioner C H Nagaraju said he would be arrested for repeating his offence in violation of the bail conditions.
Earlier this month, he was arrested for making anti-Muslim remarks at a Hindu summit and granted conditional bail by a local court in the state capital city. A few days later George made a similar hate speech at Vennala in Kochi.
George argued in the court that the case against him was politically motivated and the government was trying to score some political points amid the ongoing campaign for the Thrikkakara Assembly bypoll on May 31. In response, the prosecution said George's hate speech would cause communal issues in society.
Reacting to the local court's order, George's son Shaun George said they would be moving the High Court with an anticipatory bail application. He said the case against his father reflected a vindictive approach of the Kerala government.
Of late, in his political speeches, George has been going hammer and tongs against the Muslim community and it has landed him in trouble yet again.
On May 1, George was arrested over hate speech charges from his house and granted conditional bail later by Thiruvananthapuram Judicial First-Class Magistrate Court (II).
He was then charged under IPC Sections 153A and 295A.
On May 1, after securing bail, George told media persons: "The Judiciary in India is for justice and the Honourable Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, and his police had arrested me as a Ramzan gift to Islamic terror groups."
George, who has been a legislator for seven terms, had lost the 2021 Assembly elections from his home constituency Poonjar and the one major reason why he lost is he antagonised the Muslim community in his constituency, who for long has been his mainstay.
