In a significant development, the complainant in the case involving a 15-year-old girl from Noida who made alleged abusive remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi has withdrawn her complaint. The complainant cited the teenager’s apology and the Prime Minister’s subsequent gesture of forgiveness as reasons for discontinuing the legal action.
Information was available with The Chenab Times indicating that Supreme Court lawyer Smriti Singh, a resident of Ghaziabad, had initially lodged the complaint. The First Information Report (FIR) was filed against eight girls, with the Noida teenager being the first among them. A zero FIR was registered on July 29 at the Expressway police station in Noida, based on Ms. Singh’s complaint.
The case was initially registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) pertaining to insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace, statements conducing to public mischief, and defamation. Ms. Singh informed PTI that following Prime Minister Modi’s public appeal for forgiveness, the involved girls, including the one from Noida, had uploaded apology videos. Ms. Singh had previously stated in a video that she would withdraw her complaint if the girls offered an apology.
The complainant further stated that the remaining girls subsequently issued their apologies, leading her to withdraw complaints in all eight cases. She reiterated to PTI that since the Prime Minister had extended his forgiveness, she did not wish to pursue the matter further and had communicated this decision to the Delhi Police and Crime Branch.
At the housing society in Sector 168, Noida, where the teenager and her mother reside, security and maintenance staff reported that the family was not present at their home. Guards and staff observed that the family had remained reclusive since the video of the alleged remarks went viral. They also noted that personnel from Delhi and Noida police had visited their residence on several occasions. The current whereabouts of the family remain unknown to the society staff.
In response to allegations of harassment made by the family, an official from Noida’s Expressway police station stated that no information had been received regarding the family facing harassment within the housing society or its jurisdiction. The official clarified that Noida Police had registered a zero FIR on the day the complaint was received and subsequently transferred it to Delhi Police, as the alleged incident occurred within the National Capital Territory.
The officer added that the family had not been in contact with Noida Police since the transfer and had not shared any information or complaints with the local authorities. It was suggested by the officer that the family might have temporarily relocated to Faridabad in neighbouring Haryana.
Earlier in the week, the teenager’s mother had appealed directly to Prime Minister Modi for her daughter’s forgiveness. She emphasized that the family had repeatedly apologized and claimed that the minor had been influenced by others during the protest. Speaking to PTI Videos on August 1, the mother expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for publicly forgiving her daughter.
The mother also advocated for restricting social media access for children aged between 10 and 20, suggesting that minors should be kept away from protests and political activities due to their susceptibility to influence. She claimed that despite the family’s apologies, police personnel had made repeated visits to their residence following the viral video of her daughter’s alleged remarks. The mother appealed to the Prime Minister to intervene, questioning the accuracy of the age mentioned in the FIR and requesting the withdrawal of the case so her daughter could lead a peaceful life.
The family’s lawyer, Anil Kumar, told PTI Videos that the girl was a juvenile and alleged that the complaint had inaccurately described her as a 25-year-old woman employed in a salon. He further claimed that the FIR was registered without adequate preliminary verification, which, if conducted, would have prevented its registration.
The controversy originated from a video that purportedly showed the girl using offensive language against the Prime Minister during a protest organized by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. The protest was focused on issues such as paper leaks and alleged irregularities in the education system, demanding the resignation of the then Union Education Minister. The girl later released an apology video on social media, expressing embarrassment and shame, and stating it was her first and last mistake, attributing her actions to being influenced by others.
Prime Minister Modi had subsequently stated that he had forgiven the students who allegedly made abusive remarks against him and his late mother, suggesting they should be guided rather than punished. Police sources in Delhi had indicated that the zero FIR was still under examination and had not yet been converted into a regular FIR. They also clarified that no separate FIR had been registered in Delhi concerning the matter to date.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
