On Tuesday (28 January 2025), the Delhi police informed the court about an FIR that had been launched against female journalist Rana Ayyub. This comes after a lawyer accused Ayyub of spreading ‘anti-India sentiment’ and ‘insulting’ Hindu deities on social media.
Advocate Amita Sachdeva, the complainant in the matter, moved the court on Saturday. She relates the Ayyub incident to the display of two offensive MF Hussain artworks at the Delhi Art Gallery. The DAG incident was brought to light recently, where the paintings depicted the original artwork of the renowned Indian painter.
Investigation Underway
Sachdeva filed a complaint on the national cyber crime reporting portal in November 2024 and urged criminal action against Ayyub. But after no \complaint was filed by the Delhi police, Sachdeva decided to move an application under section 156 (power of magistrate to order police investigation) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The court has already ordered the Delhi police to register an FIR under Section 150 (3A) (promoting enmity on grounds of religion) Section 295 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class) and Section 505 (statements conducting public mischief) of the Indian penal code.
Sachdeva also submitted a series of posts by Rana Ayyub on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) dating back to 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2022. She alleged that “demeaned” Ram, and “glorified” Ravana, showed Sita and Draupadi in a “disrespectful light” and complained of showing “Veer Savarkar, an esteemed freedom fighter, as a terrorist sympathiser”.
