Mumbai, Jan 22 The Bombay High Court on Thursday sought a response from the Mumbai Police on a plea filed by British doctor and YouTuber Sangram Patil to quash an FIR over "objectionable" social media posts targeting BJP leaders.
Patil, who is currently barred from leaving India due to a Look Out Circular (LOC), maintains that he has been cooperating with investigators, a claim disputed in the high court by Advocate General Milind Sathe.
A single bench of Justice Ashwin Bhobe took up Patil's plea, which also sought quashing of the LOC, and directed the police to file an affidavit in response to the petition.
The matter was posted for hearing on February 4.
Patil, a British citizen of Indian origin hailing from Jalgaon district in north Maharashtra, was stopped at the Mumbai international airport on January 10 upon his arrival and questioned for 15 hours.
His counsel, Sudeep Pasbola, on Thursday told the court that the doctor was unaware an FIR existed and had traveled to India of his own.
Despite his intent to return to Manchester on January 16, Patil was detained again and stopped from boarding his flight due to the active LOC.
He has since been stopped a third time on January 19.
The petitioner has been cooperating with the investigation and has already appeared before the Crime Branch for questioning three times, Pasbola told the court.
Advocate General Milind Sathe, however, told the court that Patil was not cooperating with the police.
Apart from the quashing of the FIR and LOC, Patil has also sought the court to stay investigation in the case and also direct the police to not take any coercive action against him.
He also sought the court's permission to travel to the UK.
The FIR against Patil was registered in December last year based on a complaint by Nikhil Bhamre, social media coordinator of the Maharashtra BJP.
Bhamre told the police that he came across Patil's objectionable post while browsing online, raised the matter with party leaders, and then approached the police.
Mumbai, Jan 22 The Bombay High Court on Thursday issued a notice to the Mumbai police on a plea filed by UK-based doctor and YouTuber Sangram Patil, booked for his alleged objectionable social media post against BJP leaders, seeking quashing of the case.
In his petition, Patil also sought for the Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against him by the police to be quashed.
Patil's counsel Sudeep Pasbola on Thursday told a single bench of Justice Ashwin Bhobe that the doctor was not even aware of the FIR filed against him and had in fact come to India from the United Kingdom on his own.
Advocate General Milind Sathe told the court that Patil was not cooperating with the police.
The court issued a notice to the police and directed them to file an affidavit in response to the petition, and posted the matter for further hearing on February 4.
As per the plea, Patil was stopped at the Mumbai international airport on January 19 based on the LOC and was not allowed to leave the country.
The doctor appeared before the city police's crime branch on Wednesday for questioning.
Patil said in his plea that he has been cooperating with the investigation, and added that he has already appeared thrice for questioning.
A British citizen of Indian origin and a native of Jalgaon district, Patil was initially stopped at the Mumbai airport on January 10 when he arrived in India and was questioned for around 15 hours, officials said.
He was again detained on January 16, when he was scheduled to fly to Manchester, and was not permitted to leave the country.
The FIR against Patil was registered in December last year based on a complaint by Nikhil Bhamre, social media coordinator of the Maharashtra BJP.
Bhamre told the police that he came across Patil's objectionable post while browsing online, raised the matter with party leaders, and then approached the police.
