Punjab Police has registered an FIR against Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira following a complaint by an Aam Aadmi Party leader over posts he allegedly made against her on social media platform X. Khaira has been booked on charges including sexual harassment, insulting the modesty of a woman and criminal intimidation. The Congress leader has questioned the FIR and described the police action as an attempt to muzzle his voice.

The case has been registered under Sections 75(1)(iv), 75(3), 79, 351 and 61 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Section 67 of the Information Technology Act. The complaint was filed by an AAP leader who had objected to posts attributed to Khaira on X. Police have also issued a notice to the social media platform in connection with the case, according to the information available.

Section 75(1)(iv) of the BNS covers sexual harassment involving sexually coloured remarks, while Section 75(3) provides for punishment for the offence. Section 79 deals with words, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman, including certain forms of verbal abuse and digital communication. These provisions form part of the charges cited in the FIR against Khaira.

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The case also invokes Section 351 of the BNS, which relates to criminal intimidation involving threats intended to cause alarm or compel a person to act or refrain from acting. Section 61 deals with criminal conspiracy, while Section 67 of the Information Technology Act concerns the publication or transmission of obscene material in electronic form. The police action follows the complaint over Khaira’s social media posts.

Khaira has questioned the circumstances surrounding the registration of the case and said police have yet to inform him of the FIR number or identify the police station where the case was registered. He has also characterised the proceedings as an attempt to silence him. His response comes as the police investigation proceeds following the complaint by the AAP leader.

The case places Khaira, a Congress MLA, at the centre of a legal and political controversy arising from social media posts directed at an AAP leader. Police have initiated proceedings under multiple provisions of criminal and information technology law, while the Congress leader has disputed the manner in which the case has been handled. Further developments are expected as investigators examine the complaint, the posts in question and the material connected to the FIR.

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