The Vadakara Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kozhikode on Friday (July 17, 2026) dismissed an application moved by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) seeking the cancellation of the bail granted to Jithin Bhaskaran, a local leader of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and the prime accused in the controversial ‘kafir’ screenshot case.

After hearing the submissions from both the prosecution and the defence, the court rejected the SIT’s prime argument that Mr. Bhaskaran had breached his bail conditions upon his release from judicial custody.

The prosecution’s argument was that, after being released on bail on July 3, the accused violated the conditions of his bail by posting messages on Facebook that allegedly challenged the investigating team. It also raised concerns in the court with a claim that he attempted to create public unrest in the locality and interfered with the course of investigation.

The case

The case, which triggered widespread political controversy in Kerala during the Vadakara Lok Sabha election campaign, relates to the circulation of a screenshot portraying Congress candidate Shafi Parambil as a devout Muslim and CPI(M) candidate K.K. Shailaja as a kafir (non-believer), while falsely attributing the post to Muslim Youth League worker Mohammed Kasim.

According to the prosecution, Mr. Bhaskaran, a former member of the DYFI Vadakara block committee and CPI(M) Thuruthi local committee, allegedly sent the controversial screenshot to around 200 recipients using WhatsApp’s broadcast feature and attempted to destroy all related digital evidence. The prosecution submitted that the district forensic division had recovered evidence supporting these allegations.

He was arrested by the Special Investigation Team on June 16, 2026.

Meanwhile, the Kozhikode Sessions Court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to DYFI leader Ribesh Ramakrishnan, who had sought legal protection ahead of a potential arrest. Principal Judge V.S. Bindhukumari accepted the application after Mr. Ramakrishnan approached the court, anticipating he would be named as an accused in the ongoing investigation. Earlier, as part of the probe, SIT had issued a notice summoning him for questioning, based on the statement given by Mr. Bhaskaran.