A Mumbai court has denied anticipatory bail to a Pune resident accused of sharing an objectionable social media post on Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, observing there is a prima facie case against him that cannot be ignored.

Santosh Darekar, 54, was booked by the cyber police under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for promoting feelings of enmity, hatred, or ill-will between different groups on grounds of religion, race, etc, after a complaint was lodged by BJP leader Yojna Thokle.

His anticipatory bail plea was rejected by Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Kale on Saturday. The court, in the order made available on Monday, said the investigation is in progress and the only argument canvassed by the accused is that there is no requirement of his custodial interrogation.