The Allahabad High Court on Friday (September 19, 2025) refused to quash a First Information Report (FIR) lodged against folk singer Neha Singh Rathore, who is accused of promoting hatred between communities and endangering the sovereignty and unity of India with her allegedly provocative social media posts on the Pahalgam terror attack.
Quashing Ms. Rathore’s application seeking an order from the court to quash an FIR lodged against her at Lucknow’s Hazratganj police station in April this year, a Bench of Justices Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi and Rajesh Singh Chauhan said that Article 19 of the Constitution of India gives all citizens the right of freedom of speech and expression but is subject to reasonable restrictions for preserving public order, decency, or morality.
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Observing the contents of the Uttar Pradesh Police’s case diary submitted in the court, the Bench said that the case diary showed that the petitioner’s social media posts, which were widely circulated in Pakistan, were against India’s Prime Minister and Union Home Minister.
“The name of the Prime Minister of India has been used in a derogatory and disrespectful manner. In such comments, the petitioner has used a religious angle, and Bihar election angle, accusing the Prime Minister by name and saying that the BJP government is sacrificing the life of thousands of soldiers for its vested interest, pushing the country into war with a neighbouring country,” the court said.
