"Tweets Prima Facie Show Disregard Against Muslim Women": Andheri Court Orders Police Inquiry Against Actor Payal Rohatgi Over Her Tweets On Safoora Zargar

Significantly, Metropolitan Magistrate Bhagawat Zirape said that every person has the right to profess their religion.

"Every community has the right to profess its religion. No individual has the right to make fun of any custom or rites of other community. Prima Facie above tweets show disregard against Muslim women and Community"

Actor Payal Rohatgi tweeted at a time Safoora Zargar (27), an MPhil student from Jamia Milia Islamia University was languishing in prison in connection with the Delhi Riots Case. The tweet was in response to a post by a journalist who wished to bring awareness regarding Zargar's condition in prison, who was pregnant at the time.

Zargar, was subsequently granted bail on humanitarian grounds.

Rohatgi tweets mentioned the Quran, Female Genital Mutilation, and sought to know if there were no condoms at the medical shop.

Based on the tweets, advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh first approached the Amboli Police for registration of an FIR. When the police refused to take cognisance of the complaint Deshmukh approached the Andheri Court, in December.

He alleged that Rohatgi's tweets spread hatred and disaffection towards the Muslim community publicly. He accused Rohatgi of defaming Muslim women due to the generic statements in her tweets and sought for Rohatgi to be booked under sections 153(A)(Promoting enmity between different groups), 153(B)(Assertions prejudicial to national integration), 295(A) (Deliberate acts to hurt religious feelings..), 298 and 505 of the IPC and sections 67,67A(punishment for publishing obscene material) of the Information Technology Act.

On March 30, the Court passed the order under section 202 of the CrPC, the stage where the court may order the police to investigate the matter before proceeding against an accused. The police has been directed to submit a report on April 30, 2021.

The magistrate noted that a mandatory 65B certificate under the IT Act was not attached to the complaint and therefore the investigation was necessary.

"Technical investigation about tweets is necessary to proceed against accused, such investigation can be conducted through police only."