NEW DELHI — Journalist Abhishek Upadhyay, who previously made headlines for reporting on alleged donation irregularities at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, has petitioned the Supreme Court of India seeking the quashing of a road rage FIR registered against him by the Ghaziabad police.
In his plea, Upadhyay alleged that the FIR was concocted by the state machinery to intimidate and retaliate against him for his critical reporting on corruption within Uttar Pradesh. He has urged the apex court to quash the police complaint or, alternatively, transfer the investigation to an independent agency outside the state’s jurisdiction, such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the Delhi Police.
According to the petition, a team of police personnel arrived at Upadhyay’s residence late on the night of August 20, informing him that a case had been registered against him at the Indirapuram Police Station in Ghaziabad following allegations of road rage and abusive behavior.
The underlying incident allegedly occurred on August 18 near Shipra Mall in Ghaziabad, where a motorcyclist brushed against Upadhyay’s car and subsequently called the emergency 112 helpline. Upadhyay contends that the incident was staged to build a false criminal case against him.
Expressing apprehension of imminent arrest and physical harm at the hands of state authorities or local goons, Upadhyay stated that he felt unsafe approaching the Allahabad High Court for relief. His petition also accuses local police of attempting to coerce nearby shopkeepers into deleting critical CCTV footage from the time of the alleged incident that could prove his innocence.
Upadhyay, who operates an independent news channel on YouTube, has maintained that the crackdown is directly linked to his investigative stories on financial transparency issues surrounding the Ram Temple trust and administrative corruption in the region. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the petition in due course.
