PRAYAGRAJ, May 18 -- The Allahabad high court has granted bail to eight Muslim men accused of organising an iftar party on a boat in the Ganga in Varanasi, consuming non-vegetarian food and allegedly throwing leftover waste into the river.

In separate orders passed on May 15, Justice Rajiv Lochan Shukla granted bail to five accused, while Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha allowed the pleas of three others. With this, eight of the 14 accused in the case have now secured bail.

In his 16-page order, Justice Shukla observed that although the alleged act could hurt Hindu religious sentiments, the accused had shown "genuine remorse" through affidavits filed before the court. The judge, however, termed the allegations of extortion against them as "...