A Delhi court on Tuesday sought an action taken report (ATR) from the city police on a plea by a woman journalist seeking registration of an FIR against assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Vivek Bhagat over allegations that he sexually assaulted her during a protest on October 3 Published on: Nov 4, 2026, 07:36:40 IST By Arnabjit Sur, NEW DELHI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link A Delhi court on Tuesday sought an action taken report (ATR) from the city police on a plea by a woman journalist seeking registration of an FIR against assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Vivek Bhagat over allegations that he sexually assaulted her during a protest on October 3.
Judicial magistrate first class Kautuk Bhardwaj directed the station house officer (SHO) of Parliament Street police station to submit a point-wise report stating whether the woman had filed a complaint at the police station and what action had been taken on it.
The court also asked whether an inquiry had been conducted and, if so, whether any cognisable offence had been made out.
The court further directed the police to preserve CCTV footage from the site of the alleged incident and all other digital evidence, including body-camera footage.
The matter will next be heard on December 1.
The allegations relate to a protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar on October 3.
The journalist has alleged that she was recording the detention of an activist when Bhagat touched her inappropriately and pushed her.
She has alleged that she filed a complaint at Parliament Street police station the same day, which was subsequently forwarded to the Delhi Police Crime Branch for investigation.
Bhagat has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Represented by advocate Saimon Farooqui, the journalist told the court that police had failed to register an FIR despite her complaint being filed nearly a month earlier.
Bhagat has also filed a complaint against the journalist, following which police registered an FIR against her under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The FIR names the journalist and two others and invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to obstructing a public servant, defamation and joint liability.
On October 15, the Supreme Court restrained police from taking coercive action against the journalist.
However, the Delhi high court declined to stay the investigation into the FIR registered on Bhagat’s complaint.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Arnabjit Sur Arnabjit Sur is a Senior Correspondent with Hindustan Times who primarily covers stories from the capital's trial courts.
Previously, he has worked for English dailies such as The Hindu, Indian Express and Millennium Post, where he has focused on crime and legal stories, especially incorporating both the subjects into producing long-form investigative work.
Known for his penchant for minutely tracking high-profile cases with both city and national relevance, he has broken several chargesheets and police remand papers in his six-year-long career.
In this present role, he uses his expertise in skimming through lengthy judgements, attending and analysing court hearings and converting them into a lucid, readable format for seamless news consumption.
