The Delhi Police on Monday filed a first information report against journalist Rana Ayyub for allegedly insulting Hindu deities and spreading “anti-India sentiment”, based on a complaint filed by advocate Amita Sachdeva.

The FIR was registered after Chief Judicial Magistrate Himanshu Raman Singh of the Saket court on January 25 directed the police to take action. “The complaint discloses commission of cognizable offences for which an FIR is warranted,” the court said, according to Live Law.

Sachdeva was also the complainant in a case against an art gallery in Delhi for displaying paintings by the late artist MF Husain that are allegedly offensive to Hindu gods. On Thursday, a Delhi court dismissed her plea seeking registration of an FIR against the art gallery.

“I have learnt from media reports that an order has been passed for registration of FIR on a complaint about some tweets that are over 10-12 years old,” Ayyub told Scroll. “The police have not contacted me, as and when they do, I will provide all the necessary information to them.”

She said she is certain her posts on X, then Twitter, do not violate any legal provision.

“The complaint on which this is premised is yet another attempt to intimidate and silence my voice,” said the journalist. “I am confident that freedom of speech and expression will be upheld by the courts when all facts are placed before them.”

Sachdeva had initially filed her complaint against Ayyub on November 11 through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, seeking action against the journalist. After receiving no response, she approached the court under Section 156(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, requesting a police investigation. Section 156(3) of the code allows magistrates to direct police investigations based on complaints.

The complaint invoked sections of the Indian Penal Code related to promoting enmity between religious groups, malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings and public mischief. Sachdeva presented social media posts by Ayyub from 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2022, alleging that they routinely insulted Hindu deities.

The complainant accused Ayyub of “demeaning” Hindu god Ram, “glorifying” Ravana, portraying Sita and Draupadi in a “disrespectful light” and describing Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar as a terrorist sympathiser, The Indian Express reported.