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India s top court has granted bail to a comedian after he spent 35 days in jail for a joke he didn t crack.
Munawar Faruqui, 30, was arrested on 1 January in the central Indian city of Indore just as one of his shows ended.
He is accused of insulting Hindu religious sentiments in jokes that he had allegedly prepared, although they did not appear in his set that night.
The Muslim comedian is among many who have recently been accused under a law that protects religious beliefs.
Creators of a show on Amazon s streaming platform were charged last month with offending religious sentiments.
Munawar Faruqui has been in police custody since January 2 for allegedly insulting Hindu gods and goddesses
It has been over 25 days since Indian stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui has been in police custody for allegedly insulting Hindu gods and goddesses during one of his shows, reported
Hindustan Times. He has not been released on bail, the Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled recently, saying there is no evidence so far that he had not committed the crime.
The court rejected the comedian s argument that he had made no offensive comment in his show on the day he was arrested, saying investigations were on and more incriminating evidence could show up. Faruqui, 29, was arrested along with five other comedians in Indore on January 2, on a complaint by Eklvaya Singh Gaud, the son of a BJP MLA. All six were accused of making filthy and indecent jokes about Hindu gods and goddesses, as well as Indian Home Minister Amit Shah.