SC orders forensic test of UP DIG's voice clip; quashes case against senior citizen
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a forensic examination of an audio clip in which a senior Uttar Pradesh police officer purportedly is heard using a communal slur against Muslims.
A bench comprising Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and K Vinod Chandran also quashed the criminal proceedings against a senior Muslim citizen who had circulated the clip seeking confirmation of its authenticity.
The voice clip, which will now be examined by a forensic laboratory, is allegedly of Sanjeev Tyagi, who is now serving as the Deputy Inspector General of Police in the state.
The bench said the prosecution of petitioner Islamuddin Ansari was "totally an abuse of police authority and the judicial process", noting that the Uttar Pradesh government itself had sought withdrawal of the case after it issued notice.
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"We find it to be totally an abuse of their authority and also the process of the court by the police in initiating the proceeding... we are more concerned with the background in which such a situation arose.
"The petitioner having asked the superintendent of police and rightly so, before making a formal complaint, as to whether the voice purported to be his, disclosing that he had used some very objectionable language was, never replied to," the bench said.
The controversy began when Ansari confronted Tyagi, then Superintendent of Police, over the alleged circulation of an audio clip in which the officer was heard making derogatory remarks against Muslims.
Before filing any complaint, Ansari had forwarded the clip to Tyagi asking whether the voice was his.
The officer never replied, and Ansari was instead booked for circulating hate speech.
His challenges before the trial court and the High Court failed, prompting him to approach the Supreme Court.
After the state informed the court it was withdrawing the complaint, the bench observed that the case against Ansari was "nothing but a counterblast" for questioning a senior police officer.
Finding the conduct of the local police "wholly unacceptable", the court set aside the FIR, chargesheet and all proceedings.
It also ordered an inquiry into the authenticity of the audio clip, directing that Tyagi's voice sample be collected and tested at the Telangana State Forensic Science Laboratory (TSFSL), Hyderabad, under the direct supervision of its director.
The bench said the director would be "personally responsible" for ensuring the test is conducted by competent officers "uninfluenced by any person, authority or extraneous consideration".
Tyagi, now DIG of Basti range, has been directed to appear before the Hyderabad laboratory within three weeks to provide his voice sample.
The petitioner will furnish the original audio clip or link for comparison.
The TSFSL director has been added as a respondent and must submit the forensic report in a sealed cover by January 31, 2026. The matter will be heard next on January 12, 2026.
Issuing a firm caution, the court warned authorities against any form of retaliation or pressure on Ansari during the inquiry, permitting him to approach it directly in case of harassment.
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Karnataka Governor gives assent to legislation against ‘honour killing’ in inter-caste marriages
Bengaluru: The government has brought into force the Karnataka Freedom of Choice in Marriage and Prevention and Prohibition of Crimes in the name of honour and tradition (Eva Nammava Eva Nammava) Act, 2026, intended to restrict ‘honour killings’ in inter-caste marriages.
According to The Indian Express, the legislation received assent from Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot on April 9 and was officially notified in the state gazette on April 10. The law had been passed unanimously by the state legislature last month.
The Bill was proposed by the Congress government in the wake of caste-linked ‘honour killings’ in the state, including the December 21, 2025, murder near Hubli of a 20-year-old Lingayat woman by her father for marrying a man from another caste.
The phrase ‘Eva Nammava Eva Nammava’ in the title is in reference to the message of universal humanity that the Lingayat saint Basavanna espoused. Basavanna, who rebelled against the caste system to lay the foundation of the Lingayat faith system, an amalgamation of all castes, used the words meaning ‘he is a part of me’ to say all people are one.
Under the new law, crimes committed in the name of ‘honour’, including murder, assault, threats, and social boycott, are specifically addressed with stringent punishments. ‘Honour killing’ offences carry a minimum imprisonment of five years, while serious assaults attract at least three years in jail.
The new law defines the social boycott of inter-caste couples as forcible eviction to remote corners of villages, refusal to provide services, refusal to provide work, refusal to conduct business, denial of loans and admissions to schools, and makes it punishable.
In the case of ‘honour killings’ per se, the new law prescribes a minimum imprisonment of five years, and in the case of assaults, a prison term that is not less than three years for serious injury and two years for minor injuries.
The offences under the proposed law are cognisable and non-bailable, which means police can carry out arrests without court permissions after taking up a case.
The legislation follows several reported inter-caste relationship-related killings in Karnataka in 2025, including cases in Raichur and another involving 18-year-old Kavita.
The law to protect the freedom of choice in marriages is among several social bills that the Congress government has brought out in line with its policies for the backward and downtrodden communities in the state.
