New Delhi: On July 31, the Noida police filed a case against a girl for using “abusive language against Narendra Modi” at the Jantar Mantar protests against his dispensation. In a video released by her in which she is seen asking for forgiveness, the girl says that she is a minor.This FIR has come despite the Union government’s assurance to the Cockroach Janata Party, prior to the withdrawal of the protest, that no legal action will be taken against any protester.Police have invoked sections 352, 353(1), and 356(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The first two criminalise ‘intentional insult’ and ‘public mischief’ but require “the intent or knowledge that the provocation will cause a breach of the public peace” or “that cause or are likely to cause fear or alarm to the public, or incite people to commit offences against the state or public tranquility.” These, naturally, do not apply in this case.The case followed a prolonged doxxing and vilification campaign against the girl by Hindutva accounts. On cue, the pro-government mainstream media have also taken up the cudgels against her.While initial reports had identified her as a 25-year-old, a day ago, the girl released a video in which she noted that she was 15 years old and had used expletives at the insistence of others. Looking deeply hassled, she apologised profusely,Notably, the Uttar Pradesh police had registered a zero FIR, which allows a complaint to be filed at any police station regardless of the crime’s location. The Hindu has reported that the case is to be moved to Delhi.The Modi government has been keen to serve takedown notices to social media companies to remove posts critical of him and other “constitutional heads.”A day ago, in his first explicit acknowledgement of the youth agitation that culminated in Delhi’s biggest protest in years and precipitated the first resignation from his cabinet under public pressure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed “shock” at female protesters using expletives and said he wished to forgive such “misled children”. The internet was quick to call out the double standards and misogyny.Cockroach Janta Party spokesperson Saurav Das has rallied against the minor’s vilification online and on television. He posted on X: “The misuse of criminal machinery against [name redacted as she is a minor] is unacceptable. Profanity does not attract a criminal case. The police can focus their energy elsewhere, not on a 25-year-old.”In a video statement, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also said, “Law should be the same for everyone. It cannot be used against the youth of the country and not against political leaders for using abusive language.”“Will FIRs also be filed against the IT cell members who have abused women in the worst possible manner for all these years?” he asked.