Delhi HC seeks action against journalist Rana Ayyub's X posts
What's the story
The Delhi High Court has taken cognizance of a petition seeking action against journalist Rana Ayyub for allegedly posting derogatory content about Hindu deities on social media platform X. The plea was filed by Amita Sachdeva, who sought the deletion of Ayyub's tweets. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav heard the case and directed the Union of India, X Corp, Delhi Police and Ayyub to respond by Thursday.
Legal proceedings
Court emphasizes on need for action
The court stated that the case requires immediate attention and directed the Delhi Police to forward the documents to X Corp. "Action is necessary in view of the highly derogatory, inflammatory and communal tweets by respondent no. 4 (Ayyub) pursuant to which even an FIR is directed to be registered against (Ayyub) on the directions of the court of competent jurisdiction," the court said. The matter has been listed for further hearing on Friday.
Complaint details
Complaint filed on National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal
Sachdeva, a self-proclaimed follower of Sanatan Dharma, had earlier lodged a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal against Ayyub. Sachdeva claimed that Ayyub's tweets not only insulted Hindu deities but also maligned Veer Savarkar and the Indian army. The six tweets in question date from 2013 to 2017. The trial court had then directed the registration of an FIR against Ayyub under Sections 153A (promoting enmity), 295A (outraging religious feelings), and 505 (public mischief) of IPC.
Petition request
Petition seeks deletion of posts
In her petition before the High Court, Sachdeva has now sought deletion of Ayyub's posts. She argued that despite exhausting all remedies under the IT Rules 2021, the tweets remain publicly accessible and continue to hurt religious sentiments and disturb communal harmony. The Delhi Police had earlier told a trial court that details of Ayyub's account were awaited but claimed the posts weren't available on X.