The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Friday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of folk singer Neha Singh Rathore in a case related to allegedly making baseless, anti-religious and anti-national comments on social media.
The said comments allegedly targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP, in connection with the killing of 26 tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir.
A bench of Justice B R Singh passed the order, observing that Rathore had not cooperated with the investigation despite directions issued by an earlier bench that had dismissed her petition seeking quashing of the FIR.
The court also noted that even the Supreme Court had not granted her any protection, limiting its relief to allowing her to seek discharge at an appropriate stage.
The FIR against Rathore was registered at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow on April 27, and the investigation is underway.
Opposing the plea, government advocate V K Singh submitted that the singer had violated the constitutional limits of free speech under Article 19 by making derogatory remarks against constitutional authorities and by posting statements deemed anti-national at a time of heightened tension with Pakistan. -- PTI