Allahabad High Court stays criminal proceedings against fashion model booked over 'controversial' poster with Shiva Linga

Therefore, the alleged posters had sparked controversy, which led to the lodging of the First Information Report, FIR by the Akhil Bhartiya Kshatriya Mahasabha leader Vikrant Singh.

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The Allahabad High Court in the case observed and has stayed the criminal proceedings stayed against Varanasi-based fashion model Mamta Rai in a 2022 case wherein it alleged that she promoted enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion and race and committed intentional insult by posting a picture showing her offering flowers on a Shivalinga with the caption “ (I am Kashi)”.

The court observed that the alleged image, displayed across the city on posters or banners, depicted a Shiva Linga along with the image of Rai where she is welcoming people to the city of ‘Baba Vishwanath’ on the grand festival of Sawan.