#MeToo: Anu Malik to step down as 'Indian Idol 10' judge
Mumbai, Oct 21: Veteran music composer Anu Malik, who is under fire for numerous allegations of sexual harassment, has been asked to step down as a judge for "Indian Idol 10".
After singers Sona Mohapatra and Shweta Pandit accused Malik of sexual harassment, two budding singers levelled similar allegations against him.
According to a source, the music director will no longer be shooting episodes of the singing reality show from Monday onwards.
"In light of the ongoing sexual harassment allegations, Anu Malik, to step down as the judge on Indian Idol. He will not be shooting any further episodes. He will not be shooting from Monday onwards," the insider said.
A lawyer for the music director Thursday denied the claims against him, saying India's #MeToo movement is being used for his client's "character assassination". Malik has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Noted lyricist Sameer Anjaan also came to Malik's defence and tweeted that he was present during the time Pandit is talking about but no such incident took place.
Malik has been one of the judges on "Indian Idol", since the show first aired in 2004.
Vishal Dadlani and Neha Kakkar are the other two judges on the panel currently of the show, which airs on Sony Entertainment Television.
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Allahabad HC orders FIR against Rahul Gandhi in dual citizenship case
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered an FIR be filed against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in connection with an alleged dual citizenship controversy.
The bench permitted the state government to hand over the probe to any central probe agency after registration of the FIR.
The order was passed by a bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi on a petition filed by S Vignesh Shishir, who had challenged a January 28 order of a special MP/MLA court rejecting his plea for an FIR against Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The special court had earlier held that it was not competent to adjudicate on issues related to citizenship.
The petitioner, a BJP worker from Karnataka, had sought registration of an FIR and a detailed probe into the matter, levelling allegations against Gandhi under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Official Secrets Act, the Foreigners Act and the Passport Act.
The complaint was initially filed before the special MP/MLA court in Rae Bareli. However, on the petitioner's request, the high court transferred the case to Lucknow on December 17, 2025.
The MP/MLA court in Lucknow subsequently dismissed the plea on January 28, 2026, prompting the petitioner to approach the high court, which has now ordered registration of an FIR.
In its order, the bench said that from a bare perusal of the allegations, prima facie cognizable offences were made out against Gandhi and hence the allegations required to be investigated.
The bench said that the special court should have looked into whether the allegations prima facie made out any cognizable offences or not, but it failed to consider it.
Earlier, Deputy Solicitor General of India SB Pandey produced the central government's records in the court relating to the citizenship controversy surrounding Gandhi.
Government counsel VK Singh also consented on behalf of the UP government that the allegations prima facie made out cognizable offences.
After having a detailed hearing, the bench found that the material on records showed that Gandhi had committed "cognizable offences" in having dual citizenship, and these allegations required to be probed.
The petitioner has alleged that Rahul is a UK Citizen and incorporated a company named M/S Backops Ltd in August 2003.
It was further submitted that Gandhi categorically admitted and voluntarily declared his nationality as British, having a Director Identification ID and London and Hampshire addresses.
In his petition, Shishir claimed that Rahul submitted the company's annual returns in October 2005 and October 2006, listing his nationality as British.
Thereafter, the company was dissolved through a dissolution application in February 2009.
According to the petitioner, the material placed before the court includes records suggesting that Rahul Gandhi may have been listed as a voter in the United Kingdom and participated in electoral processes there.
During the course of the hearing, the high court earlier directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to place all relevant records, including classified documents, before the court.
