Shashi Tharoor granted bail in national anthem 'insult' case

Former UN diplomat-turned-politician Shashi Tharoor was on Saturday granted bail by a court here in a case relating to alleged disrespect of the national anthem.

Additional chief judicial magistrate A Krishnankutty granted bail to Tharoor on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and two solvent sureties for the like amount. Tharoor, the Congress candidate from Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency in the April 16 polls, was present in the court.

The CJM posted the case for next hearing to July 9. The court had issued notice to Tharoor asking him to appear before it today after it found that there was a prima
facie ground to proceed with the complaint against him that he had committed offences under Sect 3 of Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act, 1977, enacted to prohibit desecration or insult to the country's National Anthem.

In his complaint, human rights activist Joy Kaitharath had alleged that on December 16 last, Tharoor had interrupted the national anthem after a public lecture at Kochi. He took a microphone from the table and directed the audience to stand the way people do in the US with their right palm placed on their chest instead of the attention posture followed by Indians so far. 

Tharoor told reporters at the court premises that such an incident did not take place and the allegation was a lie. Senior advocate K Ram Kumar, Tharoor's counsel, refused
to comment, saying that the matter was before the court and hence was sub-judice.

The court had issued notice to Tharoor after examining three witnesses and had stated that his directive was literally and prima facie in defiance to the above imperative
official instructions imparted to the nation, which should be taken as a "grossly inappropriate gesture" on the part of the accused.

The evidence given by witnesses would prima facie give the indication that the above argument carries weight, the court had said.