BB 17 winner Munawar Faruqui in legal trouble for hurting religious sentiments? MP police waiting to file charge sheet

Comedian and rapper Munawar Faruqui, who recently emerged as the winner of Salman Khan’s controversial reality show Bigg Boss 17 and took home Rs 50 lakh prize money, got arrested in 2021 for making some insensitive comments about Lord Rama during a stand-up performance in Indore. While he was put behind the bars, Faruqui got bail a month later. A case was filed against him and four members of the troupe under section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs). It was filed by Eklavya Singh Gaur, the son of a local BJP MLA Malini Laxman Singh Gaur.

Post this, many shows of Faruqui got cancelled due to online and offline trolling. A senior prosecution department official revealed that the state government has received a request from the police department to let them file a chargesheet against Munawar Faruqui under Indian Penal Code section 295-A on January 29, 2021. As per the rules of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the state government’s permission is required before a chargesheet is presented in a case registered under section 295-A of the IPC.

Munawar Faruqui went through a real rough phase in his life, when he had to spend a month in jail when a complaint was filed against him for making an insensitive statement on Hindu deities during a stand-up show. 12 of his shows were cancelled in two months. He too decided to leave standup comedy. In the year 2022 again, Mr Faruqui made a comeback through reality TV show ‘Lock Upp’ hosted by Kangana Ranaut, where participants where participants had to live in jail. There too he won the show’s first season.