- PDP’s protest over Urdu rules escalates after police action on Geelani video post.
- J&K police invoke BNS sections in case linked to online circulation of Geelani video.
Srinagar, 30-04-2026: A fresh political controversy has erupted in Jammu and Kashmir after the Cyber Police in Srinagar registered an FIR following the circulation of an old video of late separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani that was shared online by PDP leader Iltija Mufti during the ongoing dispute over the status of Urdu in recruitment rules for revenue posts. Reports on April 30 said the case was registered a day after Iltija posted the video on X while criticising the government’s move on Urdu.
According to reports, the Cyber Police Station in Srinagar registered FIR No. 11 under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita dealing with acts seen as prejudicial to sovereignty, dissemination of objectionable content and related offences. Some reports said the FIR was registered against Iltija Mufti, while others indicated that the police case referred more broadly to “certain individuals” or unidentified persons involved in sharing and amplifying the content online.
Police sources, as quoted in multiple reports, said the action followed inputs regarding the circulation of content on digital and social media platforms that allegedly promoted separatist ideology, spread false information and carried the potential to incite unlawful activity affecting peace, sovereignty and integrity. The police response reflects continued sensitivity around online content linked to separatist figures in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly when such material appears in a politically charged environment.
The case has emerged in the middle of an already heated political row over recent amendments to recruitment rules for revenue services in Jammu and Kashmir. The revised framework has triggered criticism after Urdu was reportedly removed as a mandatory qualification, a move that has drawn strong objection from the Peoples Democratic Party. Iltija Mufti has been at the forefront of the protest campaign, accusing the government of undermining a language that she and her party describe as central to the region’s cultural and administrative heritage.
A day before the FIR, Iltija led a protest in Srinagar and later addressed a press conference attacking the National Conference-led government over the Urdu issue. On social media, she shared an old video of Geelani speaking about the importance of Urdu and wrote that while she did not agree with his ideology, his remarks on the language were worth listening to in the present context. That post quickly drew attention and appears to have become the immediate trigger for the police action that followed.
The development has added a sharper legal and political edge to the Urdu controversy.