Civil society demands FIR withdrawal against Neha Rathore and Madri Kakoti

Lucknow: Prominent academics, artists, civil rights activists, and trade union leaders submitted a memorandum to the Lucknow police commissioner on Wednesday, demanding the immediate withdrawal of FIRs filed against folk singer Neha Singh Rathore and Lucknow University professor Madri Kakoti over their social media posts on recent Pahalgam terror attack.
The FIRs, filed under sections related to promoting enmity and disturbing public harmony, drew sharp criticism from across civil society, with many viewing them as an assault on the constitutional right to freedom of expression.
The delegation included former Lucknow University vice-chancellor Prof Roop Rekha Verma, academic Prof Ramesh Dixit, trade union leader Dinkar Kapoor, AIDWA's Vandana Rai, satirist Rajeev Dhyani, and others. The memorandum stated that merely expressing dissent or criticism of the government should not be criminalised, and that the FIRs set a dangerous precedent for silencing citizens. "Raising questions on governance or standing up against injustice is a democratic right, not a crime," the statement read.