Supreme Court quashes UP police notice seeking journalist's pre-incident data

Who it concerns: Petitioner: Abhishek Upadhyay; Respondents: State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors.; Bench: Hon'ble The Chief Justice and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Joymalya Bagchi.

What the court decided

• Quashed the notice dated 22.08.2026 issued by the Crime Branch Investigation Unit, Ghaziabad, to 'X' seeking the petitioner's digital data.
• Directed that any information obtained pursuant to the quashed notice shall not be utilized against the petitioner.
• Made the interim orders dated 25.08.2026 and 07.09.2026 absolute, staying the arrest of the petitioner until further orders.
• Ordered the release of the petitioner's seized vehicle within two days.
• Disposed of the Writ Petition and Interim Applications, noting the petitioner is at liberty to challenge the FIR before the jurisdictional High Court.

Also in the document

• The Court found that the police explanation for seeking data (to trace the petitioner) contradicted the notice contents, which sought data for a period largely prior to the alleged incident.
• The Court held that no confidential or personal information can be obtained for the period prior to the date of the offence.
• The Court noted that the petitioner was at liberty to approach a competent court to lay down mandatory guidelines for the collection of personal data in investigations.