The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday told the Allahabad High Court that the offence of endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India has been included in the first information report filed in October against Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, Live Law reported.
The offence comes under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The case was registered by the police on October 7 against Zubair for allegedly promoting enmity between religious groups with a post on the social media platform X about Hindutva supremacist Yati Narsinghanand.
Narsinghanand, who is the priest of the Dasna Devi temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad, reportedly made a derogatory comment about Prophet Muhammad during a sermon on September 29, sparking protests by Muslim groups in several cities.
On October 3, Zubair had shared a purported video of the speech on X and demanded legal action against the priest.
Several FIRs have also been filed against Narsinghanand for alleged hate speech targeting Muslims.
Udita Tyagi, the general secretary of the Yati Narsimahanand Saraswati Foundation, filed a complaint with the Kavinagar Police in Ghaziabad alleging that Zubair had posted an outdated video of Narsinghanand with intent to incite Muslims to violence.
Following the registration of the FIR, Zubair moved the court seeking protection from arrest, according to Bar and Bench.
On November 25, the court directed the investigating officer in the case to submit an affidavit by the next hearing outlining the penal sections under which Zubair had been charged.
In a reply submitted on Wednesday, the investigating officer told the court that two new sections, including Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, had been added to the FIR.
The other offence invoked was Section 66 of the Information Technology Act. This section pertains to computer-related offences.
The court allowed the additions to the FIR and listed the case for hearing on December 3, Bar and Bench reported.
In his petition in the court, Zubair alleged that he had posted on X to draw attention to repeated communal remarks made by Narsinghanand, as well as his derogatory comments about women and senior politicians.
He added that the FIR was a “malicious attempt” to prevent him from exposing Narsinghanand’s criminal activities, Bar and Bench reported.
Alt News said on Wednesday that the police’s affidavit was “yet another example of how state machinery is being used to intimidate” individuals and organisations committed to exposing hate and misinformation. “Alt News remains steadfast in our mission to uphold truth and accountability in public discourse,” it said in a statement.
The section invoked in Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (152) was a “new avatar” of the colonial-era sedition law, the organisation said.
“Critics have long warned that this provision could be weaponised to stifle dissent and target voices critical of those in power, just as sedition laws were misused in the past,” read the statement. “Zubair’s case is a stark example of how these fears are becoming a reality.”