The Uttarakhand High Court has directed the Nainital police to take prompt action against Ramnagar BJP leader Madan Joshi for allegedly conspiring to incite communal violence in Chhoi and to submit a compliance report within seven days.
The order came while hearing a protection petition filed by Noorjahan, wife of Nasir—the driver who was assaulted on October 23 in Chhoi after being accused of transporting beef.
Noorjahan’s counsel, Advocate Mrinal Kanwar, informed the division bench that Joshi had been posting and live-streaming inflammatory videos on Facebook before the outbreak of violence. Following her complaint, an FIR was lodged against Madan Joshi, Raju Rawat, Sagar Manral, Pankaj, and Karan, along with 20–30 unidentified persons.
The bench comprising Chief Justice G Narendra and Justice Subhash Upadhyay directed the police to ensure that neither Joshi nor his supporters publish or circulate any provocative content online. It also ordered the immediate removal of all inflammatory posts made by Joshi from Facebook.
During the hearing, the Nainital police initially sought time until 2 pm to file their report. When the matter was taken up again in the afternoon, the police informed the court that two people had been arrested and that further arrests were expected soon.
The police also clarified that the meat found in the vehicle on October 23 was buffalo meat, and the consignment was accompanied by a valid licence and food safety certificate issued by a supplier in Bareilly.
The High Court emphasized that the police must strictly adhere to the Supreme Court’s directions in the Tehseen Poonawalla v. Union of India case, which mandates preventive, remedial, and punitive measures to curb mob violence and lynching. The bench cautioned the authorities not to succumb to any political pressure while carrying out their investigation.
The matter will now be monitored based on the status report to be filed by the police within seven days.
