The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to Welfare Party of India activist Javed Mohammed, who was named the prime accused in the Prayagraj violence case, Live Law reported on Monday.

Justice Sameer Jain said neither the first information report not the statements of prosecution show that Mohammed was either instigating the crowd, had weapons or set vehicles on fire.

“...At this stage, it cannot be said that applicant was instrumental for such violence,” the court added.

The activist was arrested in June for allegedly conspiring to carry out violent protests in Prayagraj against two Bharatiya Janata Party spokespersons who made disparaging remarks about Prophet Muhammad.

On June 12, civic authorities had demolished Mohammed’s home, claiming that it was an illegal construction. At the time, his daughter Somaiya Fatima had told Scroll that the family had not been served any notice about the alleged illegality of their house.

In its order on Saturday, the High Court noted that bail is the rule and jail is the exception, adding that bail cannot be rejected for punitive purposes. It also said that for all the offences mentioned in the FIR, the maximum punishment is between three years and seven years in jail, Bar and Bench reported.

Protests had erupted in many cities across the country in June after former BJP spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal had made disparaging remarks about Prophet Muhammad. Sharma had made the remarks during a debate on the Times Now television channel on May 26, while Jindal, who was then the media head of the BJP’s Delhi unit, had posted a tweet on June 1 about the Prophet. He deleted the tweet later.

On June 10, some protestors in Prayagraj’s Atala area hurled stones at the police and set their vehicles on fire. At least 12 police personnel were injured in the violence.