New Delhi, Jul 29: Delhi Police has registered an FIR against several social media handles for allegedly posting “derogatory, malicious and defamatory content” targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought complete details of account holders from X, official sources said on Wednesday.

The case was registered by the Special Cell’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit, which also issued notices to X and directed it to remove or disable access to identified posts and preserve all related electronic records for investigation, the sources said.

X, formerly Twitter, has been directed to remove or disable access to the content within three hours of receiving the notices while ensuring that all relevant data, logs and subscriber information are preserved, they said.

The FIR against seven to eight handles has been filed under Sections 351(3) (criminal intimidation), 353(2) (circulating false information, rumours, or alarming news-including via electronic media) and 356(2) (whoever defames another person) of the BNS.

The case follows a complaint alleging that objectionable content aimed at constitutional authorities was being circulated on the social media platform.

Some social media posts under scrutiny were uploaded during and after the July 20 Sansad Chalo protests spearheaded by the Cockroach Janta Party in which abusive language was used against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and security personnel. During the clashes at the protest, at least 65 protesters and over 200 police personnel sustained injuries, officials maintain.

The notices to X, under the relevant provision of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), seek complete subscriber information of the accounts, including names, addresses, contact details, email IDs, and login and logout records with date and time stamps. Police has also sought any additional information that may assist the investigation and asked the platform to preserve the relevant data for evidentiary purposes, he added.

According to the notices, the complaint alleges that “derogatory, malicious and defamatory” content was circulated on X targeting constitutional functionaries. Investigators are examining whether the posts attract offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and other applicable provisions of law, the source said.

In a parallel exercise, the IFSO issued “Intimation to Intermediary for Disabling Access to Unlawful Information” notices under the rules of the IT Act, Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021, directing X to disable access to several identified URLs, according to one of the notices.

The notices state that the content hosted on the platform allegedly contained false, manipulated and objectionable material intended to defame public personalities.

One notice refers to an FIR registered by the Special Cell under various sections and their sub-sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, alleging that circulation of the content had caused serious harm to the reputation, dignity and public image of the prime minister and had the potential to disturb public order and fuel unnecessary controversy, the sources said.

Police said the investigation is underway and further action will be taken based on the digital evidence and information received from the social media platform.

New Delhi, Jul 29: The Supreme Court on Wednesday closed a criminal case against former prime minister Manmohan Singh in a coal block allocation case while setting aside a summoning order passed against him.

Singh, who passed away on December 27 2024, now stands formally acquitted in the high-profile criminal case.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana accepted the CBI’s closure report giving a clean chit to the former PM and others.

The top court said there was no reason for the trial court judge to turn down closure reports of CBI and take cognisance.

“Due to unfortunate demise of the appellant, this appeal could be disposed of as infructuous. But with a view to consider the aspect of ld. spl. judge taking cognisance and summoning the appellant, we have gone through both closure reports filed by CBI.

“Having regard to the relevant parameters consistently laid down by this court on acceptance of reports of investigating agency, we are satisfied that there was no reason for ld. judge to turn down closure reports of CBI and take cognisance. We allow the appeal and set aside the impugned judgment. As a result, we accept the closure reports of CBI and close the matter,” the bench said.

Singh, industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, ex-coal secretary P C Parakh and three others were summoned as accused by a special court in a coal scam case pertaining to allocation of Talabira-II coal block in Odisha in 2005.

The Supreme Court, however, intervened and stayed the directive.

Singh had questioned the absence of the mandated sanction for prosecuting public officials like him, and denied any criminality in his decision concerning the coal block allocation.

Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar had summoned the six accused for the alleged offences punishable under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent) of the IPC and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

Besides these three, the court had also summoned M/s Hindalco, its officials Shubhendu Amitabh and D Bhattacharya as accused in the case.

The case pertains to allocation of Talabira II coal block in Odisha to M/s Hindalco in 2005, when the then Prime Minister Singh was holding the coal portfolio.

CBI, in its FIR, had named Parakh, Birla, M/s Hindalco Industries Ltd and other unknown persons for alleged offences under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and under provisions of the PCA.

However, the agency had later on filed a closure report in the court, which had refused to accept it.

The court had directed CBI to examine former Prime Minister Singh and some top officials of the then Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), including Singh’s then Principal Secretary T K A Nair and then private secretary B V R Subramanyam.

Jamnagar, Jul 29: The country’s cooperative movement received new vigour and momentum after the Narendra Modi-led government established a separate ministry for the sector, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has said.

He was speaking after virtually inaugurating ‘Sahakar Bhavan’, the newly constructed headquarters of Jamnagar District Cooperative Bank here on Tuesday. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was present on the occasion.

Modernisation is essential for strengthening the cooperative system, and this process begins with modernising the headquarters and functioning of the cooperative institutions, Shah noted.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government of India established a separate Ministry of Cooperation and infused new energy and momentum into the country’s cooperative movement,” he said.

The Centre set up a separate Ministry of Cooperation in 2021. The ministry provides a separate administrative, legal and policy framework to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country.

Shah emphasised that initiatives, such as establishing more than two lakh new primary agricultural credit societies (PACS) and dairy cooperative societies, adding more than 20 new business activities to PACS, taking the audit system of cooperative institutions online and connecting different cooperative institutions, will play an important role in ensuring the prosperity of farmers and strengthening the rural economy in the coming years.

The Jamnagar District Cooperative Bank, which began in 1969 with a modest capital of only Rs 2.5 lakh, has a business of more than Rs 215 crore today, he said.

As service cooperative societies and dairy cooperative societies expand their areas of operation, the bank will play an increasingly important role as a major institution meeting the financial requirements of the cooperative sector across the district, the minister said.

The modern headquarters, constructed at a cost of approximately Rs 25 crore, has been built on 25,000 square feet of land, and offers nearly 47,000 square feet of functional space.

The building has been designed keeping in view the bank’s projected requirements for the next 15 years, he said.

The new headquarters of Jamnagar District Cooperative Bank has been constructed in conformity with all the standards prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and NABARD, and is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, the Union minister added.