Singer faces investigation for alleged derogatory remarks about PM Modi following Pahalgam attack.
The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a petition from Bhojpuri singer Neha Singh Rathore, who sought to quash a first information report (FIR) related to her social media posts concerning the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which occurred on April 22. The court’s ruling, issued by a bench consisting of Justices Rajesh Singh Chauhan and Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi, emphasized that Rathore allegedly used Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name in a derogatory manner in her posts.
The bench noted that the allegations against Rathore, at first glance, indicated a cognizable offense that warranted police investigation. The timing of her remarks, which followed closely on the heels of the Pahalgam attack, was also deemed significant. In light of this, the court mandated that Rathore appear before the investigating officer on September 26 and cooperate with the inquiry until the police submit their report.
The Pahalgam attack, which occurred on April 22, resulted in the deaths of 26 individuals and left 17 others injured. Reports indicated that the terrorists specifically targeted tourists, asking for their names to determine their religion, with the majority of fatalities being Hindu. Rathore faced legal repercussions after posting a video on social media in late April, in which she claimed that the attack represented a failure of intelligence and security on the part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government.
In her video, Rathore suggested that Modi would likely leverage the Pahalgam attack to garner votes in Bihar, drawing a parallel to the aftermath of the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, which resulted in the deaths of 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel. The state of Bihar is anticipated to conduct Assembly elections in the coming months, potentially in October or November.
Following a complaint lodged at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow, an FIR was filed against Rathore, charging her with sedition under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and under the Information Technology Act. Seeking to overturn this legal action, Rathore approached the court. During court proceedings, her counsel argued that she possessed a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and expression on social media. The counsel maintained that no state authority could infringe upon this fundamental right.
However, the bench clarified that while Article 19 does grant citizens the right to free speech, this right is subject to reasonable restrictions aimed at maintaining public order, decency, or morality. In its verdict, the court reiterated that Rathore’s comments included derogatory references to the Prime Minister and implicated the BJP in initiating conflict with Pakistan for its own interests. The court stated that Rathore’s remarks invoked both a religious perspective and an election context, accusing the Prime Minister by name and alleging that the BJP was sacrificing the lives of countless soldiers for its vested interests, thereby escalating tensions with a neighboring country.
