New Delhi: The Allahabad high court has dismissed the pleas of two persons challenging their detention under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) for allegedly burning copies of Hindu epic Ramcharitmanas and insulting the text. The manner in which the Ramcharitmanas, a “dharm granth” as per the “religious sentiments and faith of the majority community”, was insulted in a public place in broad daylight was “bound to generate anger in the society”, the court observed in two separate but identical orders.The accused persons, who are linked to the All India OBC Mahasabha, an outfit working for the interests of backward caste people, contended that they were booked in the case on the complaint of a Bharatiya Janata Party office-bearer due to political reasons. The incident took place in the aftermath of senior Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya publicly declaring that certain verses in the epic poem justified a Varnavadi (casteist) mentality, denigrated lower caste people (Shudras) and used derogatory language for women to undermine them. Therefore, such verses which justified caste and gender hierarchy and bias should be deleted from the text of the epic written by 16th-century poet Goswami Tulsidas, Maurya argued. His comments triggered a huge political controversy, with the ruling BJP accusing the SP of trying to incite religious feelings of Hindus.The Ramcharitmanas is a retelling of the story of the life of Lord Ram in the Sanskrit epic Ramayana in the Awadhi dialect, spoken in central Uttar Pradesh.A division bench of Justices Narendra Kumar Johari and Sangeeta Chandra on January 5, Friday, dismissed the habeas corpus writ petitions filed by the accused Devendra Pratap Yadav and Suresh Singh Yadav and upheld the NSA orders. The judgment had been reserved on November 22, 2023.While Devendra Pratap is a doctor, Suresh Singh had told court he was a retired soldier.An FIR had been lodged against the two and some others on January 29, 2023 for allegedly gathering at a location in Lucknow in support of Maurya’s comments and allegedly burning copies of the Ramcharitmanas. The accused allegedly also crushed copies of the Ramchartimanas under their feet.The FIR was lodged at PGI police station in Lucknow on the complaint of Satnam Singh Lavy, linked to the BJP. The accused, which included a retired railway employee Yashpal Singh Lodhi, retired soldier Satyendra Kushwaha and retired public sector employee Mohammad Saleem, were charged for criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, promoting enmity between different groups, deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious sentiments, damaging or defiling object of worship, uttering words to hurt religious sentiments and criminal intimidation, among other things.While arguing for bail in a lower court – the bail was granted on February 13 last year – Devendra Pratap cited Dr B.R. Ambedkar and his writings and speeches against inequality and discrimination. Pratap told the court that he had only disagreed with some parts of the Ramcharitmanas. The accused had said they only burned the pages of the epic they had found contentious.In February 2023, the accused were slapped with the NSA, a preventive detention law invoked to maintain public order and maintain national security.While dismissing their pleas against the NSA order, the high court observed that the case was not merely associated with law and order but involved the maintenance of public order.There are various examples of past incidents that have taken place in different parts of the country where social and communal harmony have been spoiled due to “religious frenzy” and as a consequence, harm has been caused to “life and property” and the development work of the state has been obstructed, the high court said.The bench noted that in an age where almost everyone had access to a mobile phone and social media, it was natural to fear that the incident could create a situation of religious frenzy and outrage. In a country where people of all religions live in harmony and present a “special example” of “unity in diversity” on the world stage, the “unwise act” of the accused persons had created a possibility of and circumstances for the “germination of the seeds of mutual conflict”, the judges said. This could certainly create adverse conditions in the path of prosperity and development of the nation and society, the court added.