Delhi court orders FIR against journalist Rana Ayyub over derogatory posts

A Delhi court has directed police to register an FIR against journalist Rana Ayyub for allegedly making some derogatory posts in 2016-17 that included “insults to Hindu deities, spreading of anti-India sentiment and incitement of religious disharmony.”

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The court said the plea before it disclosed the commission of cognisable offences, and directed the Delhi Police to investigate the matter “fairly”.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Himanshu Raman Singh of the Saket court issued the order after lawyer Amita Sachdeva filed a complaint alleging that Ayyub’s tweets “insulted Hindu beliefs and spread anti-India sentiments”.

“In view of the facts and circumstances, the complaint discloses commission of cognizable offences for which an FIR is warranted. Present SHO Cyber Police Station, South, is directed to convert the contents of the complaint as FIR and investigate the matter fairly,” the court ordered.

The court stated that prima facie offences under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between groups), 295A (hurting religious sentiments), and 505 (statements causing public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code were made out, warranting a police investigation.

“The facts pleaded by the complainant are such which necessitate intervention of state machinery in the form of police investigation,” the court said.

Sachdeva initially approached the Cyber Cell of Delhi Police under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, claiming that Ayyub’s tweets were designed to “systematically mock and demean Hindu beliefs, insult India, and spread communal discord.”

The police, however, submitted an Action Taken Report (ATR) stating that only a non-cognizable offence was made out since Section 66A of the IT Act was struck down by the Supreme Court in the landmark Shreya Singhal vs Union of India judgment.

Despite the ATR, the court found the allegations severe enough to justify an FIR. “Considering the gravity of the allegations, the Court is of the view that it is expedient to order investigation in the present matter in exercise of the judicial power under Section 156(3) CrPC,” the court observed.