New Delhi: The Supreme Court ordered Uttar Pradesh IPS officer Sanjeev Tyagi, now DIG Basti, to give his voice sample for forensic testing in a case linked to an audio clip that carried derogatory remarks about Muslims. The Court also quashed the criminal case against 73 year old Islamuddin Ansari, who had forwarded the clip privately to Tyagi in 2020 to ask if the voice was his.
A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and K. Vinod Chandran called the action against Ansari an abuse of authority. The judges said any attempt to pressure him in the future would allow him to approach the Supreme Court directly.
The events began in March 2020. Ansari forwarded the disputed audio file to Tyagi, who was then Superintendent of Police in Bijnor. He received no response. Days later, an FIR was lodged against an unknown person, which linked the message to a risk of disturbing public order under the Epidemic Act. Police took Ansari from his home in Dehradun to Bijnor, held him for hours, and seized his phone and wallet.
A chargesheet filed in July 2020 accused him of circulating a message that could inflame religious sentiments. A magistrate issued summons in 2021. Ansari approached the Allahabad High Court, which refused to quash the case in August 2025. He then moved the Supreme Court.
Ansari told the Court he forwarded the clip privately and did not publish it. He argued that the prosecution targeted him for questioning a senior officer about remarks directed at a minority community. The Court ordered that Tyagi’s voice sample be tested in Hyderabad. The case will be heard next on January 12, 2026.
