The Supreme Court on Monday (September 7, 2026) asked the Uttar Pradesh Police why they needed the digital footprint of Abhishek Upadhyay, an independent journalist who flagged the alleged misappropriation of donations to the Ayodhya Ram temple , in order to investigate a road-rage case registered against him.
Mr. The senior counsel urged the Bench to frame guidelines on the extent of digital information that investigating agencies could seek, while safeguarding an accused person’s right to privacy and a fair trial. Referring to the safeguards laid down by the Supreme Court for arrested persons in D.K. Basu vs. The counsel, however, assured the court that if no incriminating material was found against Mr. Upadhyay, the police would file a closure report. Upadhyay with a copy of the FIR and CCTV footage relating to the road-rage incident. It had also protected him from arrest and allowed him to approach the jurisdictional High Court for further relief.
Upadhyay subsequently moved an application before the Supreme Court, claiming that the Uttar Pradesh Police were seeking details of his digital activity dating back to June 1, 2026, in an attempt to identify his sources. State of West Bengal (1996), he argued that similar protections were needed to govern investigations in the digital age.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed the Ghaziabad Police to provide Mr.
“The advancement of technology raises very complicated challenges… If investigating agencies don’t employ scientific methods of investigation, the courts will say the investigation is very poor… The victim will also accuse them of not investigating and say their rights are being violated…
Some balance has to be drawn somewhere,” the Chief Justice said.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by Mr. Upadhyay, seeking the quashing of the road-rage FIR or, alternatively, the transfer of the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He alleged that the FIR was based on fabricated allegations and was registered to harass him over his journalistic work.
