Bulli Bai: Court's Bail Order to 3 Says 'Their Age Misused by Other Accused'

Photos of several Muslim women were uploaded for 'auction' on an app called 'Bulli Bai' on GitHub in January.

Photos of hundreds of Muslim women were uploaded on an app named 'Bulli Bai' using GitHub.

(Photo: The Quint)

After granting bail to three persons accused in the Bulli Bai app case, a Mumbai court said in its bail order released on Wednesday, 20 April, that the petitioners' "immature age and understanding" was misused by the others accused in the case.

A Bandra court had granted bail to 21-year-old Vishal Kumar Jha, 18-year-old Shweta Singh, and 21-year-old Mayank Agarwal on 12 April, and the detailed bail order was made available on Tuesday.

Magistrate KC Rajput, while announcing the order in the court, had observed, "They (the accused who were granted bail) though attained substantial age of majority and understanding abused tender understanding and immaturity of other accused persons...," the Bar and Bench reported. It had denied bail to the other accused Omkareshwar Thakur and Neeraj Singh.

Photos of several Muslim women were uploaded for 'auction' on an app by the name of 'Bulli Bai' on GitHub in January, leading to public outrage, following which a number of arrests were made by the police in the case.

The court, in its order, said that the future prospects of the three students would suffer if they were to remain in jail while their exams approach, reported news agency PTI.

Further, it advised the parents or guardians of these accused to provide them with counselling regarding social behaviour and social media norms.

The three had been refused bail by the magistrate and the sessions court previously. They had moved fresh bail petitions after the police filed its chargesheet in the case.

Delhi Police's Cyber Cell had in March filed a 2,000-page long chargesheet in the Bulli Bai app case. The chargesheet had named Omkareshwar Thakur and Neeraj Bishnoi as key accused in the case.

(With inputs from PTI and Bar and Bench.)