Supreme Court grants protection to journalist who reported alleged Ram Temple donation irregularities

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has granted interim protection to journalist Abhishek Upadhyay, who had reported alleged irregularities in the handling of donations at the Ayodhya Ram Temple. The court directed the Uttar Pradesh Police not to take any coercive action against Upadhyay in a case registered in connection with a road accident. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government.

The court also directed the police to provide Upadhyay with a copy of the FIR registered at the Indirapuram police station in Ghaziabad. The interim protection will also apply to any other FIRs registered against him by the Uttar Pradesh Police in the future, according to the court's directions.

The Supreme Court also directed Upadhyay to approach the Allahabad High Court seeking the quashing of the FIR. The case has been posted for September 7. In his petition, Upadhyay alleged that he had not been provided with a complete copy of the FIR and that the police were pressuring nearby shop owners to delete CCTV footage from the time of the incident. He also alleged that the FIR was filed to harass him over his investigative reporting on corruption in Uttar Pradesh.

The incident that led to the case against Abhishek Upadhyay took place on August 18. Upadhyay said he was returning from school with his daughter in his car when a man on a motorcycle confronted him near Shipra Mall in Ghaziabad. The man allegedly claimed that Upadhyay's car had hit the motorcycle, leading to an argument. Upadhyay said he left the spot without getting into a dispute as his daughter was also in the car.

He alleged that the police later registered an FIR and conducted a search at his residence on August 20. Upadhyay also told the court that he feared he could be arrested.