A court in Kerala’s Kottayam district on Monday remanded Bharatiya Janata Party leader PC George to 14 days in police custody after rejecting his bail application in a hate speech case concerning derogatory remarks he made against Muslims on January 5, Bar and Bench reported.

This comes after the Kerala High Court on Friday rejected George’s petition for anticipatory bail in the case citing his history of making communal remarks. The judge noted that the BJP leader had been implicated in an earlier case for making statements targeting Muslims in 2022.

He subsequently moved the Erattupetta Judicial First Class Magistrate Court for bail, which was rejected on Monday.

Earlier in the day, the police reached George’s residence in Erattupetta but found him missing. Later, the BJP leader, along with party workers and his family members, arrived at the court in the municipality and surrendered.

George was booked for his remarks against Muslims during a televised debate on January 5.

The first information report was filed on the basis of a complaint by the Muslim Youth League Municipal Committee under Section 196(1)(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which relates to the “promotion of enmity between different groups on grounds of religion”.

Section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act, which relates to powers to deal with unlawful assemblies, was also invoked in the case.

On February 6, the BJP leader’s petition for anticipatory bail was denied by the Kottayam Sessions Court, The Hindu reported.

He then moved the High Court, which flagged gaps in India’s hate speech laws during the proceedings. It noted that the law did not impose stricter penalties on repeat offenders and urged Parliament and the Law Commission to review the provisions.

As per current provisions, a jail sentence is optional for hate speech offences as the court has the discretion to pass a sentence or issue a fine instead.

Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, hate speech is governed by Section 196(1)(a), pertaining to the “promotion of enmity between different groups on grounds of religion”, and Section 299 related to “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs”.

Both sections stipulate a penalty of imprisonment for up to three years for hate speech offences, a fine, or with both.