A Delhi court on Wednesday sought an action taken report from the Delhi Police on a plea seeking registration of an FIR against a student activist and her father, who participated in the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protest in June, over alleged derogatory social media posts about Hindu deities.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Mridul Sharma of Patiala House Courts issued notice to the Delhi Police and sought a report from the station house officer (SHO) of Parliament Street Police Station on the action taken so far on the complaint. The matter will next be taken up on January 28.
The plea alleges that four posts from the minor girl’s X account, published between September 2023 and August 2026, contained derogatory references to several Hindu deities and attracted provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.
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The plea comes amid separate cases against self-styled influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj, who has been accused by the Delhi Police of assaulting the 38-year-old father after he attended the CJP protest on June 23 along with his minor daughter. Bhardwaj was booked under provisions of the SC/ST Act and is also an accused in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) case registered on the complaint of the minor girl, who alleged online threats and harassment. He was granted three-week interim bail last week in the assault case.
{{/usCountry}}The plea comes amid separate cases against self-styled influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj, who has been accused by the Delhi Police of assaulting the 38-year-old father after he attended the CJP protest on June 23 along with his minor daughter. Bhardwaj was booked under provisions of the SC/ST Act and is also an accused in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) case registered on the complaint of the minor girl, who alleged online threats and harassment. He was granted three-week interim bail last week in the assault case.
{{/usCountry}}Bhardwaj’s arrest came amid outrage over an interview in which Bhardwaj claimed that he had “cracked the skull” of the student activist’s father during the June 23 protest and escaped arrest because of his political connections.
The fresh plea, filed by advocate Amita Sachdeva, alleged that four posts from the minor girl’s X account, published between September 2023 and August 2026, contained derogatory references to several Hindu deities. It sought registration of an FIR under Section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) and Section 196 (promoting enmity between groups on grounds including religion) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), besides relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act.
Sachdeva told the court that the posts remained publicly available and “have outraged religious feelings and those of other Hindus”.
“The posts, published through electronic means, insulted Hindu deities and religious beliefs with deliberate and malicious intention to outrage the religious feelings of Hindus,” the plea said.
The petitioner claimed that she had earlier sought removal of the posts, but they continued to remain online.
The plea also sought an investigation against the girl’s father, alleging that the account was being operated by his daughter from their household and that the allegedly offending content was not removed despite notice.
The petitioner has further sought preservation of the four alleged offending X posts and associated media, along with X/platform records, IP logs, device details and other electronic evidence. It also sought steps to prevent further circulation of the alleged content