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. 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.
The matter will next be taken up on January 28. 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.
Sachdeva told the court that the posts remained publicly available and “have outraged religious feelings and those of other Hindus”.
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.
