Court stays FIR against Abhijit Iyer-Mitra for abusive posts on women journalists
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New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday stayed its earlier directive to register a First Information Report (FIR) against commentator Abhijit Iyer-Mitra over his social media posts containing sexually abusive remarks about women journalists associated with news outlet Newslaundry, according to Live Law.
On April 23, Judicial Magistrate First Class Bhanu Pratap Singh of the Saket Court had held that Iyer-Mitra could be booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita relating to sexual harassment and insulting the modesty of a woman, noting that “police investigation is necessary as the offence has been committed in cyber space”.
The case was initiated after Newslaundry Managing Editor Manisha Pande and other women journalists approached the court, alleging that Iyer-Mitra had repeatedly used derogatory language and sexist slurs against them.
Earlier, on August 13, the court had directed the Station House Officer of Malviya Nagar Police Station to submit an action taken report, asking whether any complaint had been filed and what steps had been taken. In November, the police were granted a final opportunity to file the report, which was eventually submitted on February 18, Live Law reported.
Subsequently, the journalists moved the court under Section 175 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which empowers a magistrate to order a police investigation into cognisable offences.
In parallel, the journalists have also filed a defamation suit before the Delhi High Court against Iyer-Mitra, seeking a public apology and damages amounting to ₹2 crore. They argued that the remarks were “false and malicious” and amounted to sexist slurs aimed at humiliating women professionals, directly attacking their dignity and right to work without fear of sexual harassment.
On May 21, Iyer-Mitra deleted the posts made between February and April after being reprimanded by the High Court. However, on February 26, the journalists informed the court that they would not withdraw the defamation suit, which remains pending.
