Pune, September 16, 2026: A Pune sessions court on Wednesday granted bail to social media influencer and civic activist Santosh Pandit in a case over allegedly obscene and defamatory remarks concerning Maharashtra minister Chandrakant Patil and woman PMC corporator. Additional Sessions Judge S.U. Wadgaonkar granted bail on a ₹25,000 personal bond with a surety of the same amount.
The case was registered at Kothrud Police Station under Sections 75(1)(iv), 75(3), 356(2) and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act. According to the FIR, a woman alleged that YouTube videos uploaded by Pandit on September 2 contained objectionable remarks about Patil and a woman corporator, while an earlier video allegedly referred to Fadnavis.
The prosecution opposed bail, citing concerns over possible witness influence, evidence tampering and the uploading of similar content. Police also said that call records, financial transactions and the involvement of others were still being examined.
The defence argued that the disputed words could have ordinary meanings depending on their context and that continued custody was unnecessary. The court noted that the offences carry a maximum punishment of three years and said the investigation could continue without keeping Pandit in detention.
Pandit was arrested on September 3 and was later sent to judicial custody at Yerwada Central Jail. The court directed him not to contact the complainant and not to tamper with evidence. Whether the alleged remarks were deliberately made in the manner claimed by the prosecution will be decided during the trial.
