Ruchika Singh Booked For Abusing PM Narendra Modi: How Do Other Countries Handle Such Incidents?
Ruchika Singh Booked For Abusing PM Narendra Modi: How Do Other Countries Handle Such Incidents? Published By, Last Updated: July 31, 2026, 17:25 IST Zero
Ruchika Singh Booked For Abusing PM Narendra Modi: How Do Other Countries Handle Such Incidents? Published By, Last Updated: July 31, 2026, 17:25 IST Zero FIR against CJP protester Ruchika Singh: US to US, Germany, laws vary widely even among advanced democracies — from protection for politicians to almost none. News18 explains Rapid Read Ruchika Singh was booked for using derogatory language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File) A Zero FIR has been filed against a 25-year-old woman named Ruchika Singh for allegedly using abusive and objectionable language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a Cockroach Janata Party-led (CJP) student protest in Delhi. Laws vary widely even among “advanced democracies" — from strong protections for politicians to almost none. News18 explains. ACTION TAKEN On July 23, 2026, explicit and abusive slogans were directed at PM Modi during a protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. The protests focused on paper leak irregularities in competitive examinations like NEET. A complaint was filed by Supreme Court advocate Smriti Singh at the Expressway police station in Noida. The Noida Police registered a Zero FIR under charges of intentional insult, public mischief, and defamation. The case has been transferred to the Parliament Street Police Station in New Delhi for further active investigation. Parallelly, the Delhi Police’s IFSO unit registered an independent FIR targeting multiple accounts across platforms like X (formerly Twitter) for spreading derogatory content against constitutional authorities.
What is zero FIR? A Zero FIR is a special type of police complaint that can be filed at any police station, regardless of where the crime happened, and is given the serial number “0" before being transferred to the correct station with jurisdiction THE REACTIONS Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi condemned the police action, posting on X that the government was trying to “threaten Gen Z into silence" and penalise students unfairly. BJP MP Kangana Ranaut heavily criticised the protesters, stating that directing vulgarity and personal abuse toward the Prime Minister and his late mother does not reflect genuine student behaviour and violates India’s cultural values. The CJP criticised the registration of the criminal case. While they condemned the foul language, they questioned whether such verbal outbursts legally cross into criminal offences rather than protected, albeit frustrated, democratic dissent. HOW DO ADVANCED DEMOCRACIES HANDLE SUCH INSTANCES? United States: No such law exists. The First Amendment protects even harsh, insulting speech about political leaders; only true threats, incitement to imminent violence, or defamation of a private falsifiable fact can be actionable, and public officials face a very high bar (actual malice) to win defamation suits. Germany: Has the strongest protections among major democracies. Article 188 of the German Criminal Code criminalises insults against politicians specifically, and was introduced in 2020 under Merkel, then tightened in 2021 to let prosecutors investigate on their own initiative.
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