Gyanvapi row: Court reserves order on bail plea or judicial custody of DU professor Ratan Lal for post on 'Shivling'

A day after Delhi University's Hindu College associate professor Ratan Lal was arrested for his objectionable social media post referring to claims about a 'Shivling' found inside Varanasi's Gyanvapi mosque complex, the court on Saturday reserved order on his bail plea or judicial custody.

An FIR was lodged against Lal on Tuesday night based on a complaint filed by a Delhi-based lawyer. In his complaint, advocate Vineet Jindal said the professor had recently shared a "derogatory, inciting and provocating tweet on the Shivling".

He was booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295A (deliberate act to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion).

Meanwhile, today, Left-affiliated All India Students Association (AISA) activists on Saturday staged a protest outside Delhi University's Arts Faculty against the arrest of Ratan Lal.

The student activists held placards that read: "Stop attack on our teachers", "Stop curbing democratic voices" and "Release professor Ratan Lal".

There was a heavy deployment of police during the protest. Apart from the district police, four companies from an outside force, including women personnel, have been put in place, police said.