FIR filed against journalist Rana Ayyub for allegedly insulting Hindu gods

The Delhi Police on Monday filed a first information report against journalist Rana Ayyub for allegedly insulting Hindu deities and spreading “anti-India sentiment”, based on a complaint filed by advocate Amita Sachdeva.

The FIR was registered after Chief Judicial Magistrate Himanshu Raman Singh of the Saket court on January 25 directed the police to take action. “The complaint discloses commission of cognizable offences for which an FIR is warranted,” the court said, according to Live Law.

Sachdeva had initially filed her complaint on November 11 through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, seeking action against Ayyub. After receiving no response, she approached the court under Section 156(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, requesting a police investigation. Section 156(3) of the code allows magistrates to direct police investigations based on complaints.

The complaint invoked sections of the Indian Penal Code related to promoting enmity between religious groups, malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings and public mischief. Sachdeva presented social media posts by Ayyub from 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2022, alleging that they routinely insulted Hindu deities.

The complainant accused Ayyub of “demeaning” Hindu god Ram, “glorifying” Ravana, portraying Sita and Draupadi in a “disrespectful light” and describing Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar as a terrorist sympathiser, The Indian Express reported.

Sachdeva is also the complainant in a case against an art…

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