New Delhi: Supreme Court has agreed to hear Tuesday a plea of a journalist, who flagged alleged irregularities in the handling of donations at Ayodhya’s Ram temple, challenging an FIR lodged against him by the Ghaziabad police in an alleged road rage case.
The fresh plea was mentioned before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana which agreed to list for hearing the plea of journalist Abhishek Upadhyay Tuesday.
“Multiple FIRs have been filed against him and now an FIR under the stringent provisions of the SC/ST Act has also been filed. The police raided his house August 20. Yesterday also, the police came at 5 o’clock. I have filed my writ petition. I request that it may be listed today or tomorrow, whatever is possible,” his counsel said.
The CJI then agreed to list the matter for hearing Tuesday subject to curing of defects in the petition.
The plea by Upadhyay claimed that the FIR is based on concocted allegations against him and is an attempt to harass him for his independent journalistic works.
In the plea, he has contended that the FIR copy has not been supplied to him and that the police were forcing nearby shopkeepers to delete the CCTV visuals of the relevant time.
Upadhyay sought quashing of the FIR, or in the alternative, its investigation be transferred to an independent agency other than the Uttar Pradesh Police.
“The petitioner apprehends imminent arrest and further physical harm and states that, in view of the aforesaid sequence, he is not in a position to safely approach the high court of Judicature at Allahabad.
“He apprehends that he may be arrested or subjected to physical harm by planted goons of the state machinery in the State of Uttar Pradesh before he can obtain effective judicial protection,” the plea said.
“He is, therefore, seeking quashing of the impugned FIR and in alternative ready and willing to join the investigation and cooperate with the investigating agency in accordance with law with a request that present FIR as well as other FIRs filed against him because of his reporting on the Ram Janam Bhoomi donation theft issue may please be directed to be investigated by Delhi Police or Central Bureau of Investigation,” his plea said.
The FIR has been lodged against Upadhyay in Ghaziabad over an alleged road rage incident, which he has claimed was planted in connection with his reporting on alleged corruption in Uttar Pradesh.
Upadhyay, who runs a YouTube channel, claimed a police team reached his residence late August 20 and told him that a case had been registered at Indirapuram police station following allegations of road rage and abusive behaviour.
According to Upadhyay, the alleged incident took place August 18 near Shipra Mall in Ghaziabad, when a motorcyclist allegedly touched his car. He said the man subsequently called the police emergency helpline 112 and an FIR was registered later.
He alleged that the police team had come to his residence possibly to arrest him and he requested Ghaziabad police to release CCTV footage of the alleged incident.
According to his plea, Upadhyay has previously reported on alleged irregularities involving donations to the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
