The Uttarakhand High Court on Friday directed gym owner Deepak Kumar (“Mohammad” Deepak) to refrain from making any comments on social media about the cases filed in connection with a January incident, in which he confronted right-wing activists who were allegedly harassing a Muslim shopkeeper over the name of his store.
The Court, according to Bar and Bench, declined to entertain Kumar’s plea seeking to quash the criminal case filed against him based on a complaint by right-wing activists. However, it noted the State Police’s assurance that the Supreme Court’s guidelines on safeguards for investigating offences punishable with up to seven years’ imprisonment would be followed.
The Court further instructed the police to proceed with the investigation.
The case stems from a January 26 incident in which Kumar objected to right-wing activists pressuring an elderly Muslim shopkeeper to remove the word “Baba” from his shop on the ground that it carried a Hindu connotation.
During the exchange, when asked his name, Kumar identified himself as “Mohammad” Deepak, although his real name is Deepak Kumar.
Kumar recently moved the High Court seeking to quash a First Information Report (FIR) registered against him based on a complaint by the same activists he had confronted, along with other reliefs.
The Court, however, directed Kumar and others to cooperate with the ongoing police investigation and cautioned them against creating any disturbance, including by circulating messages or videos related to the January 26 incident.