Chandigarh Police Serves Legal Notice to Academician Madhu Kishwar in Delhi Over Social Media FIR
In a significant development, Chandigarh Police arrived at the Sarita Vihar office of prominent academician Madhu Kishwar in Delhi on Tuesday to serve a formal notice. This action is connected to a First Information Report (FIR) registered against her, stemming from allegations of circulating forged and misleading content on social media platforms.
Details of the FIR and Police Action
According to official statements, the FIR was filed on April 19th at the Sector 26 police station in Chandigarh. The complaint, lodged by a resident of Chandigarh, accuses Kishwar and several other social media users of sharing a video that contained obscene text and was allegedly misidentified. The police served Kishwar with a notice under Section 35.3 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNSS), requiring her to appear at the police station. The date for her appearance has been set for the following day, with further actions pending based on her compliance.
Sarita Roy, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Sector 19 in Chandigarh, confirmed the details, stating, "An FIR has been filed on April 19th at Sector 26 police station. It's related to a video that was tweeted. Madhu Kishwar is accused of retweeting it. We had come to serve her a 35.3 BNSS notice. She has been served a notice to appear at the police station. The date has been given for tomorrow, so we will see after that."
Legal Charges and Investigation
The FIR includes multiple charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology (IT) Act, specifically:
- Section 196: Promoting enmity or hatred between groups
- Section 336(1): Forgery
- Section 356: Criminal defamation
Chandigarh Police issued an official statement explaining that the complainant alleged the circulation of forged and misleading social media posts and video clips. These materials were said to contain obscene text and were being shared by various users, with the individual in the video being misidentified. The complaint emphasized that this appeared to be a deliberate attempt to create false electronic records using objectionable language, despite awareness of the content's misleading and false nature, with the intent to cause harm.
Furthermore, the complaint asserted that the video was circulated to damage the reputation of a constitutional authority and disturb public peace and tranquillity, necessitating a detailed investigation and appropriate legal action.
Background of the Video and Preliminary Findings
As per the complainant, the individual featured in the video is a travel vlogger, and the original clip was shared from his wife's social media account, which regularly posts updates about their activities online. In their statement, police noted, "As per the statement of the woman, she disclosed that the person in the video shared from her account is her husband. Statements of her husband and another lady in the video have also been recorded during preliminary investigation."
Kishwar's Response and Legal Protocol
Meanwhile, Madhu Kishwar addressed the situation in a social media post, revealing that a team from Chandigarh Police had visited her late on Monday night to serve the notice. She highlighted legal protocols, stating, "Since the law forbids the police to visit or arrest women after dark and before sunrise, I spoke on phone to the leader of the delegation. She told me that their team has come to serve notice regarding an FIR registered against me in Chandigarh. I insisted that they go by the law and come in the morning." This post was shared on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
The case continues to unfold as authorities proceed with their investigation, and Kishwar is expected to comply with the notice by appearing before the police as scheduled.
