Recently, the Supreme Court granted protection from arrest to journalist Abhishek Upadhyay in a road rage case registered against him in Uttar Pradesh. The Court also sought the response of the Uttar Pradesh government on his plea seeking quashing of the FIR.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued notice to the State and directed that no coercive action be taken against Upadhyay in the FIR already registered against him or in any connected FIR that may be registered. The matter will next be heard on September 7.

The Court also directed the Uttar Pradesh Police to provide Upadhyay with a copy of the FIR registered at Indirapuram in Ghaziabad. The Superintendent of Police, Ghaziabad, was asked to file a compliance report.

Upadhyay had approached the Supreme Court alleging that the road rage case was a retaliatory move aimed at targeting him for his investigative reports concerning the Ram Mandir Trust and alleged corruption in the Uttar Pradesh administration. The FIR invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as well as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Senior Advocate Pradeep Rai, appearing for Upadhyay, argued that the allegations were fictitious and that the journalist had faced FIRs following several of his investigative reports. He told the Court that Upadhyay had carried out an investigation concerning alleged irregularities in the management of Ram Mandir donations in Ayodhya.

Rai also sought access to CCTV footage from the area where the alleged incident took place, contending that the footage would help establish what actually happened.

During the hearing, CJI Surya Kant observed that if a person were to hit a two-wheeler and subsequently use casteist abuses, such conduct could attract an offence under the SC/ST Act. However, he added that the situation would be different if the allegations were found to be completely imaginary or concocted.

According to Upadhyay's plea, he was returning home after picking up his minor daughter from school when a motorcyclist allegedly approached his car and created a commotion. He claimed that he did not engage in any confrontation and instead attempted to de-escalate the situation because his daughter was accompanying him.

The plea further alleged that there was no collision, physical confrontation or subsequent incident between the journalist and the motorcyclist.

Upadhyay has alleged that the incident was deliberately staged in retaliation for his investigative reporting. He claimed that after learning about the allegations, he asked fellow journalists to check nearby establishments for CCTV footage. According to his plea, police personnel had already visited some of these establishments and allegedly pressured them to delete or withhold footage from the relevant period.

The plea also pointed out that the person who owned the two-wheeler was allegedly different from the person who filed the complaint.

Apart from his reporting on alleged irregularities involving Ram Mandir donations, Upadhyay had also published an investigative report concerning an IAS officer allegedly close to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister. The report raised questions over the alleged purchase of agricultural land in Bhadohi in 2023 for around ₹20 crore, with the officer's profession reportedly recorded as “business” in the transaction.

With the Supreme Court now directing that no coercive action be taken against Upadhyay and seeking the State government's response, the case will come up for further consideration on September 7.