Supreme Court Stays Case Against Gym Owner Who Clashed With Bajrang Dal

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed criminal proceedings against Deepak Kumar, a gym owner from Kotdwar, Uttarakhand, who was booked for rioting after an altercation with Bajrang Dal workers. The court also put on hold a March 2026 Uttarakhand High Court order that had barred him from posting about the incident on social media.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the Uttarakhand government, returnable within four weeks, on Kumar's petition challenging the High Court's refusal to quash the FIR against him. The bench ordered that proceedings under the FIR and the operation of the High Court's directive remain stayed in the interim.

Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for Kumar, argued that the essential ingredients of rioting were absent. He said Kumar had intervened only after Bajrang Dal members confronted a Muslim shopkeeper over the word "Baba" in his shop's name. "How can a Good Samaritan be subjected to this kind of a complaint?" Singhvi asked.

Singhvi also criticised the High Court's social media restriction as a "blanket gag order," noting it added a restriction rather than granting relief. The High Court had earlier rejected Kumar's requests for police protection, registration of an FIR against those who allegedly gathered outside his gym on January 31, and a departmental inquiry against police officials, calling the pleas an attempt to "sensationalise" the issue.

The case stems from January 26, when Kumar confronted a group harassing a 71-year-old Muslim shopkeeper over the shop's name. During the confrontation, Kumar identified himself as "Mohammad Deepak." Five days later, Bajrang Dal members gathered to confront him but were held back by police.