Supreme Court stays proceedings against gym owner ‘Mohammad’ Deepak Kumar in rioting case

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed criminal proceedings against Kotdwar gym owner Deepak Kumar, known locally as “Mohammad” Deepak, in a rioting case stemming from a January 26, 2026 altercation over a shop name. The two-judge Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta also stayed a March 20, 2026 High Court order that had barred Kumar from posting about the incident on social media while the investigation continued.

The case began when Kumar intervened after Bajrang Dal activists allegedly pressured a 71-year-old Muslim shopkeeper to remove the word “Baba” from his store’s signage on Republic Day. Kumar later identified himself as “Mohammad Deepak” to the group, a disclosure that figured in the FIR filed for rioting. Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for Kumar, told the Supreme Court that the essential ingredients of rioting were missing and argued that a “Good Samaritan” should not face prosecution for defending a shopkeeper. Singhvi also characterised the High Court’s gag order on social media posts as a “blanket gag order,” saying it imposed an additional restriction rather than granting relief.

The Supreme Court directed the Uttarakhand government to respond within four weeks and ordered that all proceedings pursuant to the FIR, as well as the operation of the High Court’s March order, be stayed in the interim. The state government has not yet filed its reply.

In the High Court, Kumar had argued that police failed to act despite video evidence and details of the Bajrang Dal members involved. However, a single-judge Bench headed by Justice Rakesh Thapliyal dismissed those pleas on March 20, stating that Kumar’s requests for police protection, registration of an FIR against those who assembled outside his gym on January 31, and a departmental inquiry into police inaction amounted to attempts to “sensationalise” the issue and could interfere with the ongoing investigation. The High Court also restrained Kumar and his friend Vijay Rawat from posting messages or videos related to the incident on social media, cautioning that such posts could prejudice a fair and transparent probe.

The Supreme Court’s interim order marks a procedural pause in a case that has drawn wider political attention, including attention from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was reported in February 2026 as planning to visit Kumar’s gym.

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