The Kunnamangalam Judicial First Class Magistrate Court on Tuesday granted bail to Shaija Andavan, a Professor at the National Institute of Technology-Calicut (NIT-C) who was recently booked on charge of posting a social media comment praising Nathuram Godse, Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin. She appeared directly in the court to move the bail application.
A group of Youth Congress workers staged a black-flag protest against Ms. Andavan when she came out of the court after securing bail. They said the local-level protest would be intensified seeking department-level action against her.
It was on February 3 that the Kunnamangalam police registered a case against her under Section 153 (Punishment for wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) of the Indian Penal Code. “Proud of Godse for saving India” was her controversial comment on the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi that attracted widespread protest in the State. She had been interrogated twice in connection with the case.
The complainant in the case is a Students’ Federation of India functionary who found it as a case of sedition. The Democratic Youth Federation of India had also filed a petition with the District Police Chief (Kozhikode City) seeking action against Ms. Andavan.
