Vishal Dadlani was accused of hurting religious sentiment by tweeting about Jain guru Tarun Sagar.
Highlights
- Dadlani, music composer, accused of hurting religious sentiment
- He tweeted against Jain monk giving speech to Haryana assembly
- Supreme Court says he must ask High Court for protection against arrest
Music composer Vishal Dadlani has apologised for and deleted his tweets about Jain guru Tarun Sagar, but he could still be arrested.
The Supreme Court today told the 43-year-old that it cannot intervene at this stage, and that he must first seek help from the High Court in Haryana, where a police case accuses him of insulting a religion.
Two weeks ago, Mr Dadlani tweeted criticism of Tarun Sagar, a Jain leader referred to as Maharaj-ji by followers, being invited to address all lawmakers in Haryana at the state assembly. Mr Dadlani, who equated the event with "monkery", later clarified that his opposition was not to any religious leader in particular but to the inter-twining of religion and politics.
He also said he would no longer advocate for the Aam Aadmi Party or AAP, whose chief, Arvind Kejriwal, was quick to clarify that Mr Dadlani's views were divergent from that of the party.
The case in Haryana was filed by Punit Arora, a follower of the Jain guru, who said Mr Dadlani's sarcastic tweet had hurt his religious beliefs.