Mumbai Police opposes plea filed by UK-based doctor against LOC

The Mumbai Police have urged the Bombay High Court to dismiss a petition filed by UK-based doctor and YouTuber Sangram Patil challenging an FIR and a Look Out Circular issued against him, arguing that the investigation is at a sensitive stage and that a coordinated attempt to undermine constitutional authorities cannot be ruled out.

In an affidavit submitted to the court, the police said further inquiry was necessary into why Patil, while living abroad, allegedly uploaded objectionable social media content targeting BJP leaders. The investigating agency said that, at this point, it was possible that the acts formed part of a broader and organised effort aimed at maligning constitutional authority and disrupting public order.

The police described Patil’s plea as premature and lacking merit, and sought its dismissal. Patil, a British citizen of Indian origin, was detained on January 10 when he arrived at Mumbai’s international airport and was subsequently prevented from leaving the country, Indian Express reported.

The affidavit stated that it was a serious matter requiring investigation that a foreign national, despite being a qualified medical professional and visiting India on a tourist e-visa, allegedly posted defamatory, obscene and inflammatory material against the Prime Minister while residing outside India. The police response was filed on January 30 by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection), Crime Branch, Raj Tilak Roushan, after Justice Ashwin Bhobe sought a reply to Patil’s petition on January 22.

Patil has approached the High Court through senior advocate Sudeep Pasbola, along with advocates Ujjwalkumar Chavhan and Aditya Hire, contending that the FIR and the LOC were illegal and arbitrary. While Patil claimed that the post cited in the FIR did not name any BJP leader in full, the police said the investigation had revealed several other Facebook posts by him that were directed against the Prime Minister, whom they described as a prominent national figure.

Following a complaint by BJP media cell functionary Nikhil Bhamre, who said he came across allegedly misleading and objectionable content targeting BJP leaders on the ‘Shahar Vikas Aghadi’ Facebook page on December 14, the FIR was registered at NM Joshi Marg police station. He also alleged that similar content had been shared by Patil.

According to the affidavit, a preliminary assessment of the timing, content, location and narrative of the posts suggested that the two Facebook accounts were operated in a coordinated manner, with indications of common authorship, control or conspiracy aimed at damaging the Prime Minister’s image. The police also pointed out that while Patil is originally from Erandol in Jalgaon district, the Facebook page listed Chalisgaon—also in Jalgaon—as its location, which they said supported the inference of coordination.

The agency further claimed that Patil did not provide satisfactory or truthful responses to a questionnaire given to him and deliberately avoided handing over his mobile phone and other digital devices for forensic examination, thereby hindering the investigation. It alleged that he continued to post inflammatory content even after arriving in India and described his refusal to grant access to his Facebook account as evasive conduct that raised suspicion of concealment and possible tampering or destruction of digital evidence.

The police said it was also necessary to examine whether Patil had any local collaborators or handlers in India who helped circulate or amplify the content, and to determine the actual purpose of his visit to India, including whether his actions violated the terms of his tourist visa.

Opposing any interim relief, the police told the court that the probe was at a crucial cyber-forensic stage and that formal processes had already been initiated to seek information from Meta Platforms regarding the posts. They added that allowing Patil to leave India at this stage would make it extremely difficult to secure his presence for the completion of the investigation, given that he is a British national.