The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court granted anticipatory bail on Tuesday to a man from Kanyakumari who posted a morphed image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Facebook, The Hindu reported. However, C Jabin Charles got the anticipatory bail only after he signed an undertaking that he would not use social media for a year.

Charles also agreed to file an affidavit apologising for his act.

Justice GR Swaminathan told Charles that if he was found using social media, the prosecution could apply for cancellation of his bail, The Times of India reported.

A Bharatiya Janata Party worker named Nanjil Raja had filed a complaint with the Vadasery Police Station in Kanyakumari on October 11, the same day the picture was posted on Facebook. The next day, the police registered a case against Charles under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act, 2000.

In his undertaking signed on Tuesday, Charles said he regretted his actions, and had immediately blocked the picture as he realised that “no citizen had the right to cause disrespect to the prime minister”. He said he was ready to issue an apology in a local newspaper for posting the morphed picture.

In May, the West Bengal Police had arrested BJP Yuva Morcha member Priyanka Sharma for posting a morphed image of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media. Banerjee’s face was photoshopped on a picture of Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra from the MET Gala in New York.

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