Punjab: AAP MLA Naresh Yadav sentenced to two years in jail in Quran sacrilege case

Malerkotla court sentences Delhi MLA to 2 years in Quran sacrilege case

In a significant legal development, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Naresh Yadav from Delhi’s Mehrauli constituency was sentenced to two years in prison by a court in Punjab’s Malerkotla on Saturday.

The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Parminder Singh Grewal, also imposed a fine of Rs.11,000 on Yadav in connection with the 2016 Quran sacrilege case.

Naresh Yadav has been convicted under sections 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

However, the court had dropped the sedition charges against the accused.

The case revolves around the recovery of torn pages of the Quran from Malerkotla, a town with a large Muslim population, on June 24, 2016.

Initially, police registered a case against three individuals, including Vijay Kumar, Nand Kishore, and Gaurav Kumar, in connection with the sacrilege incident. Yadav’s name was later added to the case based on circumstantial evidence.

In March 2021, Yadav, along with Nand Kishore, was acquitted by a lower court due to insufficient evidence. However, local resident Mohammad Ashraf filed a criminal appeal, challenging the acquittal. This led to a review of the case, culminating in Yadav’s conviction.

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