On Court Order, Delhi Police Filed FIR Against Journalist Rana Ayyub, Imposed Serious Sections

New Delhi: On the orders of a Delhi court, The capital's police on Tuesday (January 28, 2025) registered an FIR against journalist Rana Ayub under sections 153A, 295A and 505. The journalist is accused of posting objectionable posts on social media platform X in the year 2016-17.

The allegations against the female journalist include insulting Hindu deities, spreading anti-India sentiments and inciting religious hatred. The court has directed the police to conduct an impartial investigation into the matter.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Himanshu Raman Singh gave these instructions after hearing a petition filed by a lawyer Amita Sachdeva. Advocate Amita Sachdeva had requested the court to register an FIR against Ayub under sections 153A, 295A and 505. Sachdeva was represented in the court by advocates Makrand Adkar, Yadavendra Saxena and Vikram Kumar.

The petitioner's lawyer presented a series of posts by Ayub on X. He accused the journalist of insulting Lord Ram and glorifying Ravana.

Rana Ayyub has not reacted to the court's decision, although he has re-posted the news of the order to register an FIR on the social media platform X.

In the order issued on January 25, the court said, "The facts of the case prima facie constitute cognizable offences under sections 153 A (punishment for promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, caste, place of birth, residence, language etc.), 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 505 (disputed statement) of the IPC." 

The court said that considering the seriousness of the allegations, it was appropriate to order an inquiry. The court said that the facts given by the complainant are such that they require the intervention of the state machinery in the form of police investigation and the complainant (lawyer) will not be in a position to collect evidence.

The court had directed the Station House Officer (SHO) of Cyber ​​Police Station, South Delhi to convert the complaint into an FIR and conduct a fair investigation into the matter.

Who is Rana Ayyub?

Rana Ayyub is often targeted by people on X. She openly expresses her opinion on controversial issues. In 2007, she used to work in Tehelka magazine. She resigned from there after editor Tarun Tejpal was accused of sexual harassment. After this, she started writing articles in various newspapers and magazines through independent journalism. Ayyub, the author of Gujarat Files - Anatomy of a Cover Up, held the state government responsible for the riots in Gujarat in 2002. Rana Ayyub conducted several sting operations in alleged fake encounters in Gujarat. In 8 months, Ayub had recorded the conversations of many officials and people. She has also raised questions on the police encounter of Ishrat Jahan. In a conversation with BBC in February 2022, she had termed the college students of Udupi as terrorists. After this, some people had filed a complaint against Rana.

Awards received by Rana Ayyub

In 2018, Rana Ayyub was awarded the Most Resilient Journalist Award by Free Press Unlimited. In 2020, she was awarded the McGill Medal by Grady College of the University of Georgia. In 2020, Rana was awarded the Voice of Courage and Conscience Award by the Muslim Public Affairs Council of America. In 2021, she was awarded the International Journalism and Human Rights Award by the Texas Tech University College of Media and Communication. In 2022, she was awarded the International John Aubuchon Award by the National Press Club. In 2024, Ayyub was awarded the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) International Press Freedom Award.