A police case has been lodged against 25-year-old Ruchika Singh for allegedly saying abusive remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Cockroach Janta Party led protest over paper leaks at Jantar Mantar on July 23. As per the complaint filed on Wednesday, her statements apparently belittled the dignity of the Prime Minister's office and were also said to have the potential to spark public unrest and disrupt communal harmony.
Why Was an FIR Filed Against Ruchika Singh?
A Zero FIR was initially registered at the Expressway Police Station in Noida under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to breach of peace, public mischief and defamation. A Zero FIR allows a complaint to be filed at any police station, regardless of where the incident took place.
The case has now been transferred to the Parliament Street Police Station in Delhi, where further investigation will be carried out.
What Did the Cockroach Janta Party Say on the FIR?
Cockroach Janta Party spokesperson Saurav Das said that Ruchika Singh's remarks might have been a bit inappropriate, though he argued that actually filing a criminal case against her was not the right way to go about it. He added that leaning on criminal laws for protesters can have a chilling effect on ordinary people and their willingness to speak out.
“Of course, if there’s any language that was used which is derogatory in nature, then the person concerned is free to pursue civil defamation and criminal defamation against the person. However, the use of criminal machinery to go against protesters is highly condemnable and no one should be punished for any objectionable language per se. I’m not saying that the language is right. The language may be wrong, it may be objectionable to someone, but it is no reason to invoke the criminal machinery against such people. It leads to a chilling effect. I don’t think this is acceptable to anybody, especially to the younger generation,” he said.
“At the same time, I would request everyone from the younger generation to be very careful with their words, and the kind of insults and sentences that you use against people in general. That said, criminal machinery being used is a big no-no. It is completely unacceptable, it should not happen. We would also like to tell the police to maintain calm and not misuse their powers for any political ends,” Das added.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government said no legal action will be taken against those arrested during the protests, except people with a criminal record.