New Delhi, March 10 The Supreme Court granted anticipatory bail to folk singer Neha Singh Rathore in a case filed against her over a social media post related to the 2022 terror attack in Pahalgam, in which 26 people were killed.
A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar granted the relief after noting that she had appeared before the authorities and recorded her statements in connection with the case.
The top court asked her to continue cooperating in the investigation.
Rathore has challenged the Allahabad High Court's order from last year, which rejected her plea for anticipatory bail in the case.
On January 7, the top court granted interim protection from arrest to Rathore in the case filed against her over the social media post.
The comments allegedly targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the BJP in connection with the killing of 26 tourists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir.
The top court had issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh government and the complainant in the case, and stated that no coercive steps should be taken against her.
It had directed Rathore to appear before the investigating officer and cooperate in the investigation.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had rejected the anticipatory bail plea filed by the folk singer on December 5 last year.
It had observed that Rathore had not cooperated with the investigation despite directions issued by an earlier bench that had dismissed her petition seeking to quash the FIR.
The FIR against Rathore was registered at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow on April 27, and the investigation is underway.
The FIR accused Rathore of targeting a particular religious community and threatening the unity of the country. She challenged the FIR filed against her by one Abhay Pratap Singh at the Hazratganj Police Station in the last week of April. Singh accused Rathore of having "repeatedly attempted to incite one community against another on religious grounds".
Rathore contended in her plea that she had been wrongfully implicated under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including promoting communal hatred, disturbing public peace, and endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.
She also faces charges under the Information Technology Act.