Valsad: The Vapi Additional Sessions court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of a 67-year-old businessman arrested for allegedly uploading a morphed and indecent photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his X (formerly Twitter) account.

While denying bail to Bhikhubhai Gokani, of Umargam, the court stated that the freedom of expression granted under Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution is not absolute. The court emphasized that the accused’s conduct and intent should be considered when exercising the powers for granting or refusing bail.

The FIR was registered in the case on December, after the accused uploaded a morphed photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to damage his image on his X account, @BhikhuG2=20.

The accused is booked under IPC Act sections 469 (forgery for the purpose of harming reputation), 500 (punishment for defamation), 505 (1)(b) (an act likely to induce any person to commit an offence against the state or public tranquility), and the Information Technology Act, 67. DeshGujarat