Delhi Police has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against senior Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan over the alleged circulation of a doctored video of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, which purportedly showed him criticising India over its internal affairs and its purchases of Russian oil, the news agency ANI reported on Wednesday, November 4.

Source: ANI via Daily Prabhat

According to Delhi Police, the matter came to light during cyber patrolling on Tuesday, November 3, when officers noticed a post by the social media handle @thequotesnews claiming that the purported doctored video, hostile to India, had been shared from Bhushan's handle, @pbhushan1. The case, FIR No. 263/26, has been registered at the Special Cell police station under Sections 336(4) (forgery), 353(1)(c) (public mischief), 356 (defamation) and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 66C of the Information Technology Act.

Source: ANI via Daily Prabhat

Police said there is an allegation that misleading, defamatory and inflammatory content was disseminated through the video with the intention of inciting public disturbance and spreading rumours. These are allegations recorded in the FIR; they have not been tested in court, and the registration of an FIR is the start of an investigation, not a finding of guilt.

Source: ANI via Daily Prabhat

Before the FIR was announced, the Ministry of External Affairs' fact-check unit had rejected the clip on X on Tuesday, posting: 'Fake Alert!!! The video of the Russian Foreign Minister being used in this post is fake!' The Russian Embassy also rejected the purported remarks attributed to Lavrov and confirmed that the video was fabricated, according to reports of the police action.

Source: Madhyamam Online

ANI reported that Bhushan had shared the video presenting the purported exchange as a 'tight slap' against the Indian government, while government fact-checking agencies said the clip had been digitally altered and contained fabricated audio and captions. The reports reviewed for this story did not carry a response from Bhushan to the FIR. What the Special Cell's investigation establishes — and whether Bhushan responds or challenges the case — will decide the next stage.