KOTTAYAM: Former legislator and senior BJP leader P C George was granted bail on Friday by the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Erattupetta in a hate speech case.
74-years-old George was granted bail, citing health reasons, despite objections raised by the prosecution and the complainant in the
case.
On February 24, George was remanded into judicial custody till March 10 in the hate speech case registered by the Erattupetta police. However, due to
variations in his ECG reports, George was admitted to Govt Medical College Hospital in Kottayam on the same day.
He is expected to be discharged from the hospital on Friday.
The Erattupetta police had registered a case against George for allegedly making remarks that could incite religious hatred.
This action was taken following a complaint filed by the Erattupetta Municipal Committee of the Muslim Youth League. It accused George of making inflammatory comments on Muslims during a panel discussion on a news channel.
George has been booked under various sections of the BNS and Kerala Police Act, including charges of deliberately insulting a religion or religious beliefs and inciting provocation with the intent to cause a riot.
George had been embroiled in similar controversies in the past.
In April 2022, he was booked for hate speech following remarks made during the Ananthapuri Hindu Maha Sammelanam. Later that year, the Palarivattom police registered a case against him for delivering a communally sensitive speech at Vennala, Kochi.