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Supreme Court stays FIR against gym owner Deepak
The Hindu··1 Sept
The Supreme Court on August 31, 2026 stayed criminal proceedings against Kotdwar gym owner Deepak Kumar, also known as Mohammed Deepak, in a rioting case. A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta also stayed a March 20, 2026 Uttarakhand High Court order restraining his social media posts. Notice is returnable within four weeks.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Proceedings under the challenged FIR remain stayed until the Supreme Court hears the matter further.
- The High Court social media restraint on Kumar and Vijay Rawat is also stayed for now.
- The Uttarakhand government must respond within four weeks on the petition seeking to quash the FIR.
What's Happening
- Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi argued a rioting case was not made out and called the High Court curb a blanket gag order.
- Kumar came into focus after confronting activists who pressed a Muslim shopkeeper to rename a store on January 26, 2026.
- The High Court had refused to quash the FIR and had rejected his pleas for protection and related police action.
How the Kotdwar Case Began
- On January 26, Kumar told a confronting crowd his name was Mohammad Deepak during an altercation over a shop name.
- Five days later, Bajrang Dal members gathered outside his gym and were restrained by police, according to the report.
- A single-judge Bench of Justice Rakesh Thapliyal had ordered cooperation with the investigation and a social media ban pending probe.
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