Supreme Court Orders Ghaziabad Police to Give Journalist FIR Copy in Road-Rage Case
· India · Bavarian Football Works, The Hindu
The Supreme Court on August 25, 2026, directed the Ghaziabad Police Commissioner to provide journalist Abhishek Upadhyay with a copy of the FIR and CCTV footage in a road-rage case registered against him at the Indirapuram police station. A three-judge Bench headed by CJI Surya Kant also protected Upadhyay from arrest and asked the police to file a compliance report by September 7, allowing him to approach the jurisdictional High Court for further relief. Upadhyay, who had reported on alleged irregularities in donations to the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, alleged the case was fabricated to harass him and that police had refused to share a proper FIR, instead sending an incomplete page and later an older Lucknow FIR. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, does not expressly mandate immediate FIR delivery to the accused, though Section 173(2) requires a copy to be given "forthwith" and free of cost to the informant.
Why it matters
The order sets a practical precedent for an accused's right to a complete FIR, and its outcome may shape how police comply with disclosure duties under the BNSS, especially in cases where journalists allege retaliatory prosecution.
Read the original report — Bavarian Football Works
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