A Delhi court has found it necessary to proceed with legal action against journalist Rana Ayyub for social media posts back to 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2022, where she was alleged to have insulted Hindu deities and spread anti-India sentiments as per a complaint, and ordered the Delhi Police to file an FIR in this regard.
The order came after Advocate Amita Sachdeva, who had also filed a complaint against M.F. Husain's painting with similar allegations, moved an application under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.), accusing Ayyub of promoting enmity on religious grounds and making statements intended to outrage religious sentiments.
Sachdeva’s complaints claim that Ayyub’s posts on X, dating back to 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2022, demeaned Hindu God Ram, glorified Ravana, and portrayed figures such as Sita and Draupadi in a disrespectful manner, besides calling Hindutva leader Veer Savarkar as a terrorist sympathiser.
Sachdeva, represented by a team of advocates, submitted these posts as evidence, claiming that Ayyub’s actions required intervention due to the gravity of the allegations.
Responding to the complaint, the court decreed that it warranted a police investigation, considering the seriousness of the matter, which involved cognizable offences under Sections 153A (promoting enmity on grounds of religion), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings), and 505 (statements conducing public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.
Sachdeva had initially filed her complaint through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal in November, seeking criminal action against Ayyub. However, after the Delhi Police failed to act on her complaint, she approached the Saket Court, requesting an FIR.
In its order dated January 25, the court instructed the Station House Officer of the Cyber Police Station, South, to convert the complaint’s contents into an FIR and proceed with a thorough investigation.