Clubhouse case: 18-year-old student arrested from Haryana gets bail by magistrate court in Mumbai

A magistrate court in Bandra on Thursday granted bail to an 18-year-old from Haryana in his second attempt at securing bail. He was arrested in January this year in the Clubhouse app case in connection with objectionable comments made on Muslim women in the audio app’s chatroom.

The youngster Akash Suyal, a Class 12 student at a Delhi public school, had claimed bail on the grounds that the investigation is complete in the matter, the charge sheet filed and hence, that his custody is no longer required. The plea filed through advocates Akshay Bafna and Gayatri Gokhale said his father had been martyred while serving in the army in 2021, that he has clean antecedents and was made a scapegoat in the case. He is the only support of his mother who is a homemaker, it stated.

The application also sought the relief on parity, as the youngster claimed that he is the youngest of those booked in the case and those with a similar role as him had been granted bail. He said he is a bright student and is currently in prison with persons accused of serious crimes like murder and rape. His mental state had already deteriorated due to the custody and further incarceration would spoil his future, his advocates had said in the plea.

As per the complaint lodged at BKC cyber police station, the lewd remarks were made on the complainant and other women in the chatroom that was created by Suyal. He was booked along with his co-accused under provisions of the IPC Sec 153A (creating enmity between different groups), Sec 295A (deliberate acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 354A (sexual harassment) and under provisions of the IT Act among other offences.