The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to folk singer Neha Singh Rathore in a criminal case lodged over her social media remarks related to last year’s Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed 26 lives. The Court noted that Rathore had appeared before authorities and recorded her statement during the investigation.
A Bench comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar granted relief to Rathore while directing her to continue cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
The singer had approached the Supreme Court challenging a December 5 order of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court, which had rejected her plea for anticipatory bail. The High Court had earlier observed that she had not cooperated with investigators despite directions issued by another Bench while dismissing her petition seeking quashing of the FIR.
Earlier this year, on January 7, the Supreme Court had granted Rathore interim protection from arrest and issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and the complainant in the case. At that stage, the Court had also directed her to appear before the investigating officer and assist the probe, while restraining authorities from taking coercive action against her.
The case stems from an FIR registered on April 27 at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow. The complaint was filed by Abhay Pratap Singh, who alleged that Rathore’s social media post on the Pahalgam terror attack targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
According to the FIR, the remarks were also accused of promoting communal discord and threatening the unity of the country. Singh alleged that Rathore had repeatedly attempted to incite one community against another on religious grounds.
In her plea before the Supreme Court, Rathore contended that she had been wrongly booked under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including those relating to promoting communal hatred, disturbing public peace, and acts endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India. She has also been charged under provisions of the Information Technology Act.
The investigation in the case is currently ongoing.
